DoT seeks Trai view on exit policy for new telecom players

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will seek the views of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on the exit policy for new players.

“We are considering it (exit policy) and it may take some time.We will ask Trai to initiate the consultation process and seek industry and public views on the subject,” said Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal.

The issue will be part of the New Telecom Policy 2011, being formulated by DoT. Several new operators, who had entered the market, have not rolled out their services, including Videocon and Etisalat DB.

In another development, the Telecom Commission, the decision-making arm of the DoT, has cleared the Rs 20,000-crore project to provide broadband connectivity to all villages within the next three years.

“The Telecom Commission has approved the project that will be funded through the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund. We will take the proposal to the Cabinet soon,” Sibal said.

The proposed National Optical Fibre Network will add to the existing optical fibre network , which extends to district head quarters and block head quarters, and will ensure connectivity at the gram panchayat level.

The broadband project will initially be executed by state-run BSNL.

“If necessary, at a later stage, we will involve the private sector to ensure that the project is completed within the stipulated period of three years,” Sibal said.

The current corpus of he USO fund is Rs 15,000 crore. Contributions from operators to this fund is up to Rs 6,000 crore annually.