Telecom Commission likely to meet next week

Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission is likely to meet next week to discuss a host of issues including broadband project, spectrum auction, mobile services in naxal-infested areas and spectrum sharing norms.
"DoT is ready with most of the issues for deliberation at Telecom Commission. Only final date has to be decided. Most likely the commission will meet next week," a senior government official told PTI.
The panel includes representatives from Finance Ministry, Planning Commission, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and some others besides the Department of Telecom.
The agenda of the meeting includes discussion around status of National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN).

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has also identified NOFN as project of utmost importance and said that his government will focus on building broadband highways across country.
The present government has signed agreement with all states and Union territories for laying out optical fibre network except Tamil Nadu and Lakshwadweep. BSNL, RailTel and Power Grid have floated tenders for various products for rolling out project.

Other important issues include spectrum sharing, auction of CDMA airwaves, telecom infrastructure in North East and status of national optical fibre network.
Under spectrum sharing, it is proposed to allow telecom operators to share spectrum with other players in the same service area with permission of the DoT. Initial permission for any such sharing will be granted for five years and extended further.

For CDMA spectrum auction, sources said, a DoT panel has suggested seeking further clarifications from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
TRAI gave its recommendation on January 28 on spectrum trading guidelines, and on auction of the CDMA band (800 Mhz frequencies) on February 22. An internal committee of DoT is learnt to have prepared a report on both the subjects on which the panel has to take final call.
The DoT panel is understood said that it may not be possible to meet TRAI's key condition of carving out a 'contiguous spectrum' in the CDMA band before auctioning the radiowaves.