'India lacks successful telecom regulatory environment'

India is still lagging behind emerging Asian countries in establishing a successful telecom regulatory environment, according to the latest telecom regulatory environment survey.

LIRNEasia, a Sri Lanka-based research company, conducted the Telecom Regulatory Environment (TRE) survey in eight emerging Asian economies — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The research shows that due to delay in the auction of 3G spectrum and speculation around the allocation of 2G spectrum, India was seen as least efficient in terms of management of scarce resources (spectrum). In fact, India’s latest TRE scores for this dimension have marginally decreased since 2006, when the survey was last conducted. Pakistan, however, earned top rank in this field due to its policies to expeditiously process applications for the use of spectrum as well as monitor the usage of spectrum.

In the survey of India’s telecom regulatory and policy environments conducted in 2006 and 2008, India scored close to highest for universal service policy and implementation in the mobile sub-sector. However, it still lags behind Pakistan in providing a suitable environment for new players to enter and operate.

According to the survey, Pakistan, which got a high TRE score of 3.9 out of 5 for market entry, emerged as the most conducive market for new entrants.