NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested a drastically reduced entry fee for unified licences in its much-awaited recommendations on issues relating to convergence and competition in broadcasting and telecommunications.

With the government reducing the entry fee for long distance and international long distance segments, TRAI feels that entry fee for unified licences should also be reduced to Rs. 5 crore from Rs. 107 crore recommended earlier. This should be further reduced to Rs. 30 lakh after five years.

TRAI also suggested a single regulator for the telecom and broadcast sectors and called for revival of the Communications Convergence Bill. However, it has suggested a significant change in the stalled Bill by recommending that content regulation should be kept out of the purview of the proposed super regulator. The division of powers between the Government, the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and TRAI should `broadly' correspond to the present position.

"Convergence of technologies is rapidly blurring the boundaries between telecommunications and broadcasting. It is necessary for the legal and regulatory framework to adapt to this convergence and actively promote such convergence. This will also help in facilitating competition," it noted at the outset.

The TRAI said that it had attempted to address convergence of technologies through its recommendations for a unified licensing regime but it would be necessary to go beyond unified licensing to reap the full benefits of convergence. It wanted greater flexibility in spectrum allocation to take full advantage of new services and new technologies for existing services that might evolve with time.

The TRAI also made a number of recommendations on ways and means to promote broadband-based services over cable TV networks.

These recommendations cover rationalisation of differential custom duty regime, restriction on use of protocols, institutional funding, FDI limits and right of way.

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