Scandal May Delay Trai Appointments

The TRAI was formed under an ordinance issued by the outgoing Congress (I) government before the Lok Sabha elections. The six-month validity of the ordinance is still in force but no administrative steps have been taken to start the regulatory authority.

Informed sources said the three month-old Deve Gowda government wants to proceed cautiously on all telecom issues till the Sukh Ram crisis blows over and the TRAI may be its unfortunate casualty. The file concerning TRAI is with the Prime Minister's office.

A formal cabinet nod is needed to okay the TRAI board which could be either a three or a five-member body. A bill to replace the ordinance is waiting to be passed by Parliament and the Gowda government may wait until this is done before nominating a chairman, an informed source said.

 

The thinking in the National Front government now is to lay off all controversial issues which were a legacy of the Congress (I) regime lest it be accused of siding with a corrupt regime.

The telecom industry is eagerly awaiting the constitution of TRAI as it will be an independent body before which individual companies can redress their grievances against the department of telecommunications (DoT). At the moment, the DoT is not only the regulator of all telecom activities in the country but also a competitor and business associate to operators of basic, cellular, pager, V-sat and other services thrown open to private parties. The DoT will compete with basic operators in all circles and will provide interconnect facilities to them and to cellular-providers. The multiple roles of regulator, competitor and associate is causing enormous problems to private operators, industry sources say.

The DoT was to provide interconnect facilities at minimum cost but the industry was aghast when it was slapped with a do-or-else draft agreement last month with heavy charges for various kinds of connections.

After much debate and discussion, the DoT agreed to extend the deadline by six weeks as operators refused to sign it in its present form.

Formation of the TRAI was supposed to precede private participation under the new telecom policy. This was because the TRAI was to put in place certain important components of the policy like interconnection agreements, tariff guidelines and service levels, operating rules and in general ensure a level-playing field for all operators. An important mandate of the TRAI was consumer protection both against the DoT and the private operators.

Former Telecom Commission chairman R K Takkar was once tipped to head the TRAI. However, this seems unlikely now as Takkar has spent considerable time under the tainted former minister Sukh Ram from whose premises the CBI has recovered Rs 3.66 crore worth cash and assets.

Another reason why the industry is eagerly awaiting the TRAI is that the independent body was to be insulated against changes in government. The TRAI's decisions would get a certain continuity that was essential to continue the reforms process in the telecom sector. With the TRAI in place, companies which have invested hundreds of crores of rupees need not fear a shift in administrative decision-making following a change of government.