Salient Features of National Telecom Policy-2012

Licensing, Convergence and Value Added Services

- Strive to create One Nation - One License across services and service areas.

- Achieve One Nation - Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation - Free Roaming.

- To orient, review and harmonise the legal, regulatory and licensing framework in a time bound manner to enable seamless delivery of converged services in technology and service neutral environment. Convergence would cover:

- Convergence of services i.e. convergence of voice, data, video, Internet telephony (VoIP), value added services and broadcasting services

- Convergence of networks i.e. convergence of access network, carriage network (NLD/ ILD) and broadcast network

- Convergence of devices i.e. telephone, Personal Computer, Television, Radio, set top boxes and other connected devices.


- To move towards Unified Licence regime to exploit the attendant benefits of convergence, spectrum liberalisation and facilitate delinking of the licensing of Networks from the delivery of Services to the end users to enable operators to optimally and efficiently utilise their networks and spectrum by sharing active and passive infrastructure.

- Put in place a simplified Merger & Acquisition regime in telecom service sector while ensuring adequate competition.

- To facilitate resale at the service level under the proposed licensing regime – both wholesale and retail.

- To delink spectrum in respect of all future licences. Spectrum shall be made available at a price determined through market related processes.

-To frame appropriate Policies for new licensing framework, migration of existing licensees to new framework, exit policy, measures for ensuring adequate competition etc. in consultation with TRAI.

· To facilitate convergence of local cable TV networks post digitalisation.

· To put in place an appropriate regulatory framework for delivery of VAS at affordable price to fuel growth in entrepreneurship, innovation and provision of region specific content in regional languages.

· To put in place a framework to regulate the carriage charges, which are content neutral and based on the bandwidth utilisation.

· 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 capability, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier.


Spectrum Management


· Ensure adequate availability of spectrum and its allocation in a transparent manner through market related processes. Make available additional 300 MHz spectrum for IMT services by the year 2017 and another 200 MHz by 2020.

· To move at the earliest towards liberalisation of spectrum to enable use of spectrum in any band to provide any service in any technology as well as to permit spectrum pooling, sharing and later, trading to enable optimal utilisation of spectrum through appropriate regulatory framework..

· To undertake periodic audit of spectrum utilisation to ensure its efficient use.

· To refarm spectrum and allot alternative frequency bands or media to service providers from time to time to make spectrum available for introduction of new technologies for telecom applications.

· To prepare a roadmap for availability of additional spectrum every 5 years.


Broadband and Rural Telephony



· Increase rural teledensity from the current level of around 39 to 70 by the year 2017 and 100 by the year 2020. .

· To recognise telecom, including broadband connectivity as a basic necessity like education and health and work towards ‘Right to Broadband’.

· Provide affordable and reliable broadband-on-demand by the year 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of at least 100 Mbps on demand.

· Provide high speed and high quality broadband access to all village panchayats through a combination of technologies by the year 2014 and progressively to all villages and habitations by 2020.



R&D, Manufacturing and Standardization of Telecommunication Equipment



· Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing, standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and 80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively

· Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commercialisation and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services during the 12th five year plan period.

· To promote setting up of Telecommunications Standard Development Organisation (TSDO) as an autonomous body with effective participation of the government, industry, R&D centres, service providers, and academia to drive consensus regarding standards to meet national requirements including security needs.

· Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with our World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.

Telecom Infrastructure/ RoW issues, Green Telecom, Clear Skyline, Mitigation efforts during disasters and emergencies

· To work towards recognition of telecom as Infrastructure Sector for both wireline and wirelessand extension of the benefits available to infrastructure sectors to telecom sector also, to realize true potential of ICT for development.

· To facilitate increased use of alternative sources (Renewable Energy Technologies) of energy for powering telecom networks through active participation of all the stakeholders – the government, the telecom industry and the consumer for green telecommunications. Sector specific schemes and targets for promotion of green technologies will be finalised in consultation with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and other stakeholders.



Quality of Service and protection of Consumer Interest



· To strengthen the regulator for ensuring compliance of the prescribed performance standards and Quality of Service (QoS) parameters by the Telecom Service Providers

· To formulate a Code of Practice for Sales and Marketing Communications to improve transparency as well as address security issues relating to Customer Acquisition

· To undertake legislative measures to bring disputes between telecom consumers and service providers within the jurisdiction of Consumer Forums established under Consumer Protection Act.

Security

· To create an institutional framework through regulatory measures to ensure that safe-to-connect devices are inducted into the Telecom Network and service providers take measures for ensuring the security of the network..

· To ensure security in an increasingly insecure cyber space, indigenously manufactured multi-functional SIM cards with indigenously designed chips incorporating specific laid down standards are considered critical.


Skill Development and Public Sector

· To assess the manpower requirement at different skill and expertise levels by partnering with National Skill Development Council and industry to identify the relevant needs of the sector and prepare a roadmap.


Cloud Services


· To recognise that cloud computing will significantly speed up design and roll out of services, enable social networking and participative governance and e-Commerce on a scale which was not possible with traditional technology solutions.

· To take new policy initiatives to ensure rapid expansion of new services and technologies at globally competitive prices by addressing the concerns of cloud users and other stakeholders including specific steps that need to be taken for lowering the cost of service delivery.

Telecom Enterprise Services, Data Use New technologies and IPV 6 compliant Networks


· To facilitate the role of new technologies in furthering public welfare and enhanced customer choices through affordable access and efficient service delivery. The emergence of new service formats such as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications (e.g. remotely operated irrigation pumps, smart grid etc.) represent tremendous opportunities, especially as their roll-out becomes more widespread.

· To recognize the importance of the new Internet Protocol IPv6 to start offering new IP based services on the new protocol and to encourage new and innovative IPv6 based applications in different sectors of the economy by enabling participatory approach of all stake holders.

Financing of Telecom Sector

· To create a Telecom Finance Corporation as a vehicle to mobilize and channelize financing for telecom projects in order to facilitate investment in the telecom sector.

· To rationalize taxes, duties and levies affecting the sector and work towards providing a stable fiscal regime to stimulate investments and making services more affordable.

Role of Regulator, Changes in legislation

· To review the TRAI Act with a view to addressing regulatory inadequacies/ impediments in effective discharge of its functions.

· To undertake a comprehensive review of Indian Telegraph Act and its rules and other allied legislations with a view to making them consistent with and in furtherance of the above policy objectives.

OPERATIONALISATION OF THE POLICY

· To take suitable facilitatory measures to encourage existing service providers to rapidly migrate to the new regime in a uniformly liberalised environment with a level playing field.

· Policy will be operationalized by bringing out detailed guidelines, as may be considered appropriate, from time to time.



The NTP-12, inter-alia, has following Objectives on promoting R & D, Telecom Equipment Manufacturing and standardization of Telecommunication Equipment:-



· Promote innovation, indigenous R&D and manufacturing to serve domestic and global markets, by increasing skills and competencies.



· Create a corpus to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commercialisation and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services during the 12th five year plan period.



· Promote the ecosystem for design, Research and Development, IPR creation, testing, standardization and manufacturing i.e. complete value chain for domestic production of telecommunication equipment to meet Indian telecom sector demand to the extent of 60% and 80% with a minimum value addition of 45% and 65% by the year 2017 and 2020 respectively.



· Provide preference to domestically manufactured telecommunication products, in procurement of those telecommunication products which have security implications for the country and in Government procurement for its own use, consistent with our World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments.



· Develop and establish standards to meet national requirements, generate IPRs, and participate in international standardization bodies to contribute in formulation of global standards, thereby making India a leading nation in the area of international telecom standardization.



· Put in place appropriate fiscal and financial incentives required for indigenous manufacturers of telecom products and R&D institutions.



This information was given by Shri Milind Deora, Minister of State for C&IT in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on March 8, 2013.