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Friday, Apr 23, 2004

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TRAI to finalise report on broadband this week

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 22. The chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Pradip Baijal, said today that the authority would finalise a report on broadband this week and submit it to the Government for approval.

The paper, drafted after extensive consultations with the industry, would facilitate last minute connectivity and focus on increasing the internet connectivity by taking care of the cost factor, Mr. Baijal said, while addressing a conference on South Asia Communication Infrastructure, sponsored by USTDA (U.S. Trade and Development Agency) and co-sponsored by FICCI.

Citing the example of South Korea, where broadband penetration has witnessed a significant increase from one per cent initially to 25 per cent now, Mr. Baijal affirmed that a similar growth rate is needed for India. On cellular phone networks, Mr. Baijal said the operators should play an aggressive role so as to remove the bottlenecks. He felt that national roaming should be made mandatory for all and integrated in the present network structure. However, a final decision would be taken only after due consultations, he said. Referring to the FICCI secretary-general, Amit Mitra's suggestion of increasing the sectoral cap from the present 49 per cent to 74 per cent for foreign institutional investors (FIIs), Mr. Baijal said that it can be done only gradually. "It is like an evolution,"

Leocadia I. Zak, director, USTDA, said the Agency would fund the South Asia Telecommunications Management Technical Assistance Training programme. Under the programme, the 16 delegates from the countries participating in the conference would be trained at the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI). "A well-developed communications infrastructure is an essential ingredient for economic development in the 21st Century," she said.

`Crucial sector'

Robert O. Blake Jr, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy said the telecommunications sector could be an important part of the expanding trade between the two countries. Saying that his country is bullish about the future of the U.S.-India economic partnership, he stated that India, with its economic reforms, growing and outward-oriented middle class and an impressive scientific and information technology resource, is poised to offer new opportunities for American business.He however, said that the present share of U.S. telecom exports to India represented only two per cent of the country's total exports of telecom equipment worldwide. "I think there is substantial scope for growth here that can be achieved as India reduces various trade and investment barriers in this crucial sector".

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