The Hindu Business Line : Telecom union firms up global proposals

THE International Telecommunications Union (ITU) today firmed up its recommendations on spectrum allocation, pricing and interconnection issues for governments and said the regulators should ensure greater transparency and accountability in the sector.

In its first meeting in India, the oldest body under the United Nations, said different countries had adopted different models of relationship between the incumbent and new players and it was the duty of the regulator to ensure transparency and fairness.

Asked about the dispute between state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and private sector companies on interconnection, ITU officials said that the issue should be sorted out mutually between the affected parties. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) should, however, step in if the parties could not resolve the issue among themselves.

``The regulator's intervention can be on the basis of a request by either of the parties or even suo moto, if needed,'' an ITU official said.

The Government, on its part, should not impose high entry fees on new operators and instead look at growth of the sector, he said. ``We suggest that the guiding principles for the telecom sector should be affordability, growth and accessibility. The Government's role should be to foster the sector and look at indirect revenues that come along with higher volumes. These include service tax and value added tax,'' the official said.

Asked about the levy of Access Deficit Charge (ADC), which has been challenged by private operators in India, the Director General of the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), Mr T V Ramachandran said the industry had no objection to the universal service obligation (USO) charges for spread of telecom in the rural areas, but the industry had a right to know how the funds were being deployed.

``No operator anywhere in the world would object to USO. As regards, ADC, we feel that there has to be a greater transparency on where the funds are going and how they are being used,'' Mr Ramachandran said.