Trai to release consultation paper on broadband in 10 days

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said it is planning to come out with a comprehensive consultation paper on broadband Internet services in next 10 days to improve broadband penetration in the country.

The move comes at a time when the auction process for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum is going on.

"We are planning to come out with a consultation paper on broadband in next 10 days ... We will further try to hasten it and try to ready with the recommendations and regulations in next few months," Trai Chairman J S Sarma told reporters on the sideline of a Ficci conference.

The issues that would be broadly covered would include laying of optic fibre cables, getting access to the USO fund among others, he added.

Speaking at a meeting organised by FICCI on 'The Road to Broadband -- Investment and Innovation', Sarma said Trai would aim at making broadband an alternative model for the delivery of governance.

While the country boasts of having about 600 million mobile phone users, there are about 9 million broadband subscribers.

The government is auctioning two slots of 20 MHz of pan-India BWA spectrum.

As many as 11 companies are bidding for BWA spectrum. Apart from Bharti Airtel, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Vodafone and Tata Communications Internet Services, the BWA list has four new players -- Augere, Tikona Wireless, Infotel Broadband Services and Qualcomm, and Spice Internet and Infotel.

BWA spectrum allows companies to offer high-speed Internet access as well as Internet telephony and TV services.

Trai intends to elicit the views of various stakeholders on the issue.

On 2G pricing, Sarma said Trai will complete the consultation process for linking 3G spectrum price with 2G spectrum by July 15.

However, on refarming of spectrum, he said, "The details of refarming will take sometime... We will take it up quickly... But can't give a timeframe for that particular issue."