Cellular firms push for more reforms

A new leadership, newer demands. Cellular operators today laid out their agenda for third generation telecom reforms, with a view to reach 500 million mobile subscribers by 2010.

On the eve of World Telecom Day, the Cellular Operators' Association of India laid out a six-point third generation reforms agenda which included  introduction of unified licensing, sharing of infrastructure to reach rural and remote areas, reduced levies as per international best practices, introduction of mobile broadband (3G), increased spectrum, and enhanced foreign direct investment limit of up to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent in order to attract huge funds required for rolling out networks.

"With growth levels reaching a plateau, time is now ripe for the next big push. This can come through at the earliest by the launch of the critical third generation reforms. The above package of third generation telecom reforms will greatly accelerate economic development and take the benefits of world-class mobile  services to the rural, remote and unserved areas to help India reach a base of 500 million mobile subscribers by 2010," the Cellular Operators' Association of India  said in a statement today.

T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators' Association of India, said India too was poised and waiting to take the benefits of world-class mobile telephony to the rural masses through the launch of critical 3rd Generation Telecom Reforms at the earliest.

He said mobile tariffs have fallen by over 90 per cent since 1995 and services have spread far and wide to the common man.

The director general of the Cellular Operators' Association of India  said that while the first round of telecom reforms which began in 1992, kickstarted competition and opened the door to the path of accelerated economic development through the key infrastructure of telecommunications, the second generation reforms process was initiated in 1999 with the announcement of the National Telecom Policy 1999 which ushered in a revenue-sharing regime, open competition, and technology neutrality.