New telecom policy aims to do away with roaming fees

Telecom users will be able to avail free roaming and keep their phone numbers even if they switch service providers anywhere in the country, as per the draft New Telecom Policy unveiled by the government on Monday.

The distinction between local and STD calls would vanish, as the policy aims at a 'one-nation-one-licence' regime.

Telecom operators would not require separate licences for operations in various parts of the country and a single licence would suffice.

"We will seek TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommendations on new licences, migration to new licences and exit policy," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said while releasing the draft policy.

In the wake of the 2G scam, the minister said spectrum allocation would be delinked from licences and radiowaves would be made available at market-determined prices.

As the market is crowded with too many players, the government would also bring an exit policy.

With regard to spectrum, Sibal said the government would provide a roadmap for additional spectrum availability every five years and also make its periodic audit mandatory to ensure that the scarce resource is used efficiently.

The draft NTP has also set an ambitious target of providing broadband services on demand by 2015 with a target of 600 million such high-speed Internet connections by 2020.

The draft NTP has went to the extent of likening the broadband connectivity to basic necessities like health and education and proposes to work towards a 'Right to Broadband' for every citizen.

The policy has also called for providing by the year 2015, the 'Broadband on Demand' services, which would enable affordable, across-the-country, round-the-clock and high-speed Internet connectivity to the users.

"The primary objective of National Telecom Policy (NTP)-2011 is maximising public good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and broadband services across the entire country," Sibal said.

The draft NTP-2011 aims to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020.

It also aims to converge mobile telephony, multimedia and broadcast services, to offer superior experience to customers.

"We want to reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of empowerment that combines communication, with proof of identity, fully secure financial and other transaction capabilities, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier," Sibal said.