National Telecom Policy to be in place by June: Eco Survey

The National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, under which government has proposed free roaming throughout the country, is likely to be in place by June, said the Economic Survey 2011-12.

"Draft of the policy was circulated in 2011 for consultation with various stakeholders. Views/comments from these stakeholders have been received and the same are under consideration. NTP is likely to be in place by June 2012," the Survey said.

The draft of the policy was recently approved by the apex decision-making body of the Department of Telecom (DoT), the Telecom Commission.

DoT is now in the process of seeking Cabinet approval. DoT Secretary R Chandrashekhar has said that the draft policy will be sent to the Cabinet by end of March and the department expects to get the cabinet nod by April-end.

Approval of NTP 2012 will pave the way for consumers to use the same number anywhere in the country without paying roaming charges.

Also, it will allow subscribers to change operators using mobile number portability (MNP) while moving to any other state or telecom circle.

At present, MNP allows users to change operators within same telecom circle, which in most cases is equal to a state.