Before completing regulations under the New Telecom Act, COAI requests clarifications from DoT.
NEW DELHI, FEB 16 : As the Department of Telecom finalising new rules for the telecom sector, the apex body of telecom service providers has asked the government to seek sector regulator TRAI’s recommendation before framing them.
If the rules being framed have an impact on the terms and conditions of license, introduction of new services, efficient management of spectrum etc. which are areas that come within the purview of the TRAI Act, the Government should seek TRAI’s recommendations first.
“Thus any change should be made only after following due process and after obtaining TRAI’s recommendations,” the COAI is understood to have said in a communication to the Telecom Secretary Dr. Neeraj Mittal.
The new Act (The Indian Telecommunications Act of 2023) was passed in the Parliament recently and the DoT is in process to frame rules.
The new Act provides for allocation of spectrum at administrative prices for a certain set of services and the industry is divided over the proposal.
“We understand that the DoT/Government of India, is in the process of framing rules under the various provisions of the New Act. These provisions may include spectrum assignment, the terms and conditions for granting authorization/licensing for telecommunication services among others.
“A predictable, transparent and conducive regulatory framework is paramount for attracting investments in the sector known for its capital-intensive nature and high competition, COAI said in the letter.
While the existing license provides the Government with an authority to modify the license agreement, but such modifications are permissible under specific circumstances, such as for reasons of public interest, security of the State etc. This, however, provides reasonable safeguards for the operators from any arbitrary changes to the license agreement that may put their capital/investments at risk during the validity of the license agreement or spectrum assignment.
The operators’ body also emphasised that the rules related to assignment of spectrum should preserve the contractual nature of the present assignment, which are as per license or respective Notice Inviting Applications before every spectrum auction.(UNI)
