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Thursday, May 22, 2008
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Telecom licences at reasonable cost: Raja

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja has said the government will ensure that telecom licences are awarded at a reasonable cost and that spectrum is made available for the overall growth of the telecom sector and the economy.

Speaking at the Ministerial Panel on “Doing Business in Asia” in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Mr. Raja said there was an urgent need to enable wireless broadband for mass market deployment in India, as it was the only reasonable alternative for a price-conscious population.

“My government is working on a Broadband Wireless Access Policy and the early opening up of the spectrum. We also need to ensure that the licences are awarded at a reasonable cost, so that the operators can create a long-term profitable business model for the whole eco-system. Moreover, my government believes in simplifying the spectrum licensing terms and making them success-based, so that when the networks are deployed successfully, all the participants benefit, including the government, would be critical.”

Ten-fold increase

Stating that time had now come for India to move to the next generation in mobile services, Mr. Raja said the world over 3G (Third Generation) mobile and broadband services were taking off exponentially.

“I believe that in the last one year alone, there has been a 10-fold increase in the number of mobile broadband connections worldwide. I understand that 168 networks in 73 countries have already opted for mobile broadband.”

Talking about broadband penetration, the Minister said that by 2012, India would see about 50 crore of its population connected to the Internet. More than l0 crore broadband connections, and 10 crore broadband-enabled devices will lead to drive this “Connected Indian” milieu, leading to the development of a vibrant economy, he said.

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