Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India Research Articles

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India & Competition Commission of India: Jurisdictional Conflicts

The interface between sector-specific regulation and competition law in India is unique. In the immediate past, the Indian economy has witnessed a massive growth spurt. While the fast-paced development has lifted millions of people up from poverty levels, it has also led to concomitant challenges. India has seen several economic scandals and other crises during the period of economic boom. A significant feature of the Indian economic and legal regime during this period has been a mushrooming of innumerable regulatory authorities. With several regulatory authorities cropping up simultaneously, it is natural that they might end up having overlapping jurisdictions. Therefore, it is critical to appreciate the genesis of the Indian strand of regulatory jurisprudence. The recent controversy regarding the conflict of jurisdiction between Competition Commission of India (CCI) and other sectoral regulators like Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has generated a lot of interest in public. It has been reported that Government is considering ‘clipping the wings’ of CCI. In this work an attempt is made to provide the overview of two regulators of telecom industry which are TRAI and CCI and discussion is done about the conflicting issues between both these regulators. It is also discussed whether telecom industry need both the regulators simultaneously and finally conclude the work with some suggestions.

Scope and Impact of SMS Advertising in India: The Case of Bundelkhand Region

on. However, even today SMS, a traditional short message service on mobile, is pretty much the mostfrequently used feature after calling or even more than calling. Even professionals use it for myriad ofreasons, including checking bank balances, mobile bills, and status of trains/flights etc. Recent TRAI datashows that Indians are using SMS as an extension of their lives more and more every year, an averageIndian sends 29 SMS per month (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, 2011). Just multiplying thatwith the number of ever growing Mobile subscribers in India gives an idea of the amount of SMS trafficIndia generates. In India there are over 850 million mobile subscribes and the number is rapidlyincreasing day by day. SMS marketing is one of the most popular forms of mobile marketing. The presentresearch investigates consumers’ attitudes towards mobile advertising, and constructs a research framework in order to extract relevant factors affecting consumers’ attitude towards SMS based advertisementsand users’ actual behavior. The results of the research revealed that the attitude of the consumers towardsSMS advertising is reflected in terms of privacy, irritation (anger), prior permission, time of sending,local language, operating knowledge and consumer preferences. The research was conducted with asample size suitable for study about the changing attitude and behavior of mobile users or consumers.Keywords: Information Technology, Mobile marketing, Mobile advertising, SMS, Consumer attitudes.

Policy Instruments for Green Telecommunications

Carbon emissions from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector contribute to approximately 4% of the total carbon emissions in India. With the objective of mitigating these carbon emissions, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) initiated a consultation in 2011 seeking stakeholder comments on various issues related to estimation and mitigation of the carbon footprint in the ICT sector. On the basis of these consultations, TRAI released its recommendations titled Approach towards Green Telecommunications which were accepted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) via a directive in early 2012.The present study analyses the DoT directive from the lens of policy instruments for environmental management. The directive comprises of a wide array of policy instruments including a performance regulation instrument, a technology regulation instrument, a market based instrument, a voluntary instrument and two information instruments. This amalgamation of policy instruments is unlike that in any other jurisdiction or industry and therefore presents a unique opportunity for understanding the interplay between these instruments in the area of green telecommunications.This paper is structured in the following manner. Chapter 1 introduces policy instruments for environmental management. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the TRAI recommendations and the DoT directive. Chapter 3 analyses the DoT directive from the lens of policy instruments. Chapter 4 analyses the interplay between these different policy instruments and concludes by providing recommendations on the basis of the analysis.

Technological Progress, Industry Dynamics, and Telecommunications Policy: The Need for Further Reforms in India

In this paper, we argue that much of the policy of the Indian government directed at the telecommunications sector does not pay sufficient attention to technological progress in the sector, or to the global changes in industry structure. We examine the 1994 National Telecom Policy (NTP) and have pointed out a number of problems with it including the license fees, interconnect agreements, and the regulation of financing of the projects. The myopic policy of allowing DOT to be the dominant player in all of the circles will encourage the private sector telecom companies to game the system in a number of ways, and the government will also find itself unable to reach the objectives of having significant rural coverage, and the use of domestic technology. We have outlined policy reforms for changing these problems. We also examine the areas of enterprise networking (including the Internet) and satellite communications where one needs uigent reform to take advantage of inherent industry dynamics which would give a boost to the Indian economy. By trying to regulate a modem fast paced technology sector with without being sensitive to the current state-of-art, the Indian government will always put itself in the role of an ineffectual policeman. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be more effective if it plays the role of (1) encouraging competition and universal access including extensive rural penetration (as opposed to coverage), and (2) safeguarding consumer rights including prices, service quality, and privacy.

Attitude toward SMS Advertising: A Survey with Reference to Indian Consumers

There has been tremendous growth in the mobile telecommunication industry. An estimated 5.8 billion mobile subscribers worldwide was projected for 2011 (Ahonen 2011). The high penetration and growth rates of mobile phones combined with recent technological developments such as near field communication, Google Wallet, and one tap mobile payment have borne a new communication channel with consumers: mobile advertising. Research shows that the success of mobile advertising depends on customer acceptance of it. Although recent studies have addressed consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising, a systematic study of these for India is lacking. This article tried to address this void, as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reported that India crossed the 806 million mobile users mark in January 2011. In this article, the factors influencing consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising and the relationship between their attitudes and behavior are investigated. An empirical method is used, and six hypotheses are tested.

Exit-Voice-Control: Accountability in Services Received by Indian Telecom Operators

The telecom operators, though providers of services to end customers, are also recipients of services from the Government of India. These services are received from the Government through its various organs including the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Telecom Commission (TC), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). This paper analyses three determinants of public accountability for the services provided by the government to telecom operators. First, ‘exit’ is demonstrated to have a high cost as result of which, need is established for having strong ‘voice’ and ‘hierarchical control’ mechanisms. Analysis of the ‘voice’ mechanism reveals that though it is receptive and strong in comparison to that in other ministries, there are loopholes regarding transparency and information asymmetry that need to be plugged. Analysis of ‘hierarchical control’ mechanism reveals that even though a strong monitoring mechanism is in place, there is need to link it to proper incentives for the government to respond to performance indicators.

Regulating Competition in ICT Value Networks

The recent Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) norms on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) create a two-pronged upper bound for the merged entity based on spectrum share and market share. The spectrum share, defined in terms of share of second generation (2G) spectrum held, is set at a low level (25 per cent) and the market share at a high level (60 per cent). This severely restricts the M&A transactions possible, and also ignores the fact that since each subscriber is increasingly being serviced using a combination of 2G and third generation (3G) technologies, the definition of spectrum share cannot merely be restricted to 2G spectrum. Further, given the convergence of the computing and telecommunications industries and the creation of value networks of devices, service providers and applications to provide a seamless computing, telecommunications and entertainment interface to the consumer, one has to look at regulating the market power of networks rather than of industry silos. This article details the implications of the TRAI approach and shows the need for a new framework of regulation.

Impact of Spectrum Refarming on Tariffs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommended in April 2012 that spectrum held by incumbent operators in the 900 MHz band be refarmed and substitute spectrum be provided in the 1800 MHz band so that the vacated 900 MHz band can be liberalized and auctioned for provision of IMT services without distorting the level playing field between incumbent and new operators. This paper presents a method for calculation of expected change in tariffs as a result of these recommendations. It also presents a critique of the methodology adopted by Mason (2012) wherein it was reported that refarming would result in a 30 paisa increase in tariffs. The paper is limited to the above and does not delve into whether or not the recommendations on refarming should be accepted by the Department of Telecommunications; or the nature of the consultative process adopted by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. As per the results of methodology adopted, and in complete contrast to the results of Mason (2012), there will be a 1.6 paisa reduction in tariffs if the licenses expiring between 2014 and 2016 are refarmed. Similarly, there will be a 1.7 paisa reduction in tariffs if the licenses belonging to Private Sector Undertakings are additionally refarmed. Further, the paper demonstrates that there is significant incentive for most private incumbent operators with spectrum in the 900 MHz band to willingly migrate to the 1800 MHz band.

Consumer and Telecommunication Service: Role of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in Policy Making and Regulations

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is an independent regulating body established under TRAI Act to regulate the telecommunications business in India. Its mission is to ensure that the interests of consumers are protected and at the same time to nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications, broadcasting and cable services in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in the emerging global information society. After its constitution, it has framed various policies and regulation to ensure that consumer may get maximum benefits of services offered by various service providers. It first introduces a consultation paper, then invites feedbacks and organizes open house discussion to ensure that the consultation papers are properly evaluated. The most recent consulation paper by TRAI is on very important issue of interconnect usage charges (IUC). IUC are payable by one service provider to the other for usage of the network elements for origination, transit or termination of calls. In last 14 years of Journey, TRAI has been instrumental in regulating the Telecom industry by drafting and framing regulation, issuing notification, organizing open house discussion, issuing tariff orders etc.

The Six Fix: Conservatism or Timorousness?

India can justifiably claim to be a success story in so far as the telecom sector is concerned. The exponential growth of this sector over the course of the last two decades has been amazing. To that extent the policy regime has to be complemented. However, there are serious reservations in respect of the manner of implementation of the policy and the translation of this intent into practice. This has been all the more so in the recent past. The clamor for promulgation of a revised policy to address these concerns has been growing over time.The discussions on the broad contours of the National Telecom Policy, 2011 are in progress, facilitated in no small measure by the openness of the Ministry to accommodating the legitimate concerns of the relevant stake holders. One of the issues at hand is the approach to the question of Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) regulations in the sector. There is a feeling in some quarters that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) approach is unduly restrictive and does not augur well for the overall efficiency of the sector. It is argued that TRAI is being driven more by considerations of preventing windfall gains to some operators though the reasoning for the same has been couched in terms of potential competitive concerns. This paper argues that such an approach as advocated by TRAI is not called for at least on the grounds of competitive concerns. It also advocates that the new telecom policy in India should be guided by efficient and optimal use of spectrum, thereby accelerating investments in areas with low penetration levels of mobile services.

Mobile Infrastructure Sharing - An Indian Scenario

The paper focuses on the emerging trend on the Infrastructure Sharing Business of the Telecom Industry in the India Domain. Initially, all the telecom towers were maintained by the operators themselves, but now the trend is changing and the independent companies are coming up with the sole business of lending infrastructure and support to the telecom operators. This trend has changed the pattern of Initial Capital expenditure as well as the Operating expenditure of the operators. The paper also describes the auction policy of the Government of India for the 3G and BWA spectrum. The operators operating at the various circles along with various frequency bands are also taken care of. The actions of the regulatory bodies like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunication has been controlling the regulatory issues and the way in which Indian Telecom will move in the future is much dependent on these apex bodies. Moreover, the synchronization of Indian regulatory issues with that of the International one is a must for the future. The study tries to find out the need of tower sharing in India along with the effort to find the future tower demands. The distinct functionalities of the Independent and the Operator owned tower companies will be vital for India's Telecom growth and their requirements are looked into. Finally, focus has also been given towards the various advantages and disadvantages of the infrastructure sharing pattern evolving in India and the future course of action in that domain.

Mobile Infrastructure Sharing - An Indian Scenario

The paper focuses on the emerging trend on the Infrastructure Sharing Business of the Telecom Industry in the India Domain. Initially, all the telecom towers were maintained by the operators themselves, but now the trend is changing and the independent companies are coming up with the sole business of lending infrastructure and support to the telecom operators. This trend has changed the pattern of Initial Capital expenditure as well as the Operating expenditure of the operators. The paper also describes the auction policy of the Government of India for the 3G and BWA spectrum. The operators operating at the various circles along with various frequency bands are also taken care of. The actions of the regulatory bodies like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunication has been controlling the regulatory issues and the way in which Indian Telecom will move in the future is much dependent on these apex bodies. Moreover, the synchronization of Indian regulatory issues with that of the International one is a must for the future. The study tries to find out the need of tower sharing in India along with the effort to find the future tower demands. The distinct functionalities of the Independent and the Operator owned tower companies will be vital for India's Telecom growth and their requirements are looked into. Finally, focus has also been given towards the various advantages and disadvantages of the infrastructure sharing pattern evolving in India and the future course of action in that domain.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's Proposals for Tariffs for Basic Services: A Discussion

As a precursor to enhanced competition in the telecom sector the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has published recommended prices of various telecom services. This move, along with TRAI's practice of consultation with potential entrants and consumers is to be commended. avowed aim of TRAI is to calculate and enforce cost based prices. reason behind this aim is that increasing competition would force prices towards costs and the TRAI would, through regulation, foster surrogate Another reason behind this effort is to encourage entry into the telecom sector from private firms. Since most of these entrants would have to rely on the DoT network for initiation and completion of calls high costs of interconnection would discourage entry and thereby inhibit healthy competition from developing. following excerpt from the TRAI's second consultation paper says: The present exercise to restructure telecom tariffs primarily aims to link tariff formulation with some clearly specified principles, provide a consistent and transparent fiamework for tariff policy, simplify the prevailing system of telecom tariffs, and achieve cost based prices through regulation and/or competition. Our approach will be to look at some of the principles used in computing tariffs and explain and critique those choices.

India's Response to the Changing International Telecommunications Environment

There are fundamental changes taking place in the international telecommunications environment. Most important is the technological revolution of “converged networks” brought about by the development of the internet. Simultaneously, most countries have adopted market liberalization in varying degrees and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is opening up domestic markets to international competition. This paper by Sidharth Sinha discusses the implication of these changes for India and suggests that VSNL should be given complete autonomy, subject to regulation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), for determining the technology and tariffs for international telecommunication as well as negotiating settlement rates with foreign carriers and interconnection charges with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Operationalizing a Regulatory Framework in India

India has undertaken a number of economic and telecom policy reforms such as private participation and introduction of competition both in basic and value-added services. Legislation to set up a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently been enacted in the Parliament. This paper focuses on the proposed structure, scope, and functions of TRAI in the context of some of the critical issues facing the Indian telecom sector and analyses its role in addressing these issues.