The Hindu Business Line : Tele-density, Net connectivity low — Policy thrust on spectrum, broadband must

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Tele-density, Net connectivity low — Policy thrust on spectrum, broadband must

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`One problem inhibiting dial-up Internet use is the lack of flat fee unlimited access tariff plans for fixed line telephony'.

New Delhi , July 7

DESPITE achieving 40 per cent growth in telecom sector, India has a lot of catching up to do with respect to teledensity and Internet usage when compared to other countries, according to the Economic Survey. The survey has also said that a policy on spectrum allocation is crucial for the telecom industry.

While the survey has lauded the growth in subscriber base, it has pointed out that the number of telephones needs to go up from the existing levels of 7 per cent to the levels on developed countries where the teledensity is over 100 per cent. It has pointed out that a growth rate of 40 per cent in 2004-05 and 2005-06 will take the total number of lines to almost 150 million by the end of 2005-06. Yet, teledensity will be only about 14. Countries such as China and Brazil with a teledensity of 42 are already ahead of India. "The market should offer a range of reliable fixed line and wireless technologies to suit the heterogeneous needs of the people," the Survey has said.

At a time when the operators are at loggerheads with the Government for adequate spectrum, a policy on radio spectrum, which is a scarce resource and essential for mobile communication, needs to be allocated in ways that maximise its utilisation and economic value, it says.

The Survey has also pointed out, "One problem inhibiting dial-up Internet use is the lack of flat fee unlimited access tariff plans for fixed line telephony. While the growth of broadband has been a vexing problem, some countries such as South Korea have achieved remarkable penetration of Internet access at homes." While telephone lines have grown by 40 per cent to 76 million lines, Internet subscribers grew by 15 per cent from 3.6 million to 4.2 million in 2003-04.

The Survey said that a high bandwidth connecting a country to the world, for both voice and data traffic is increasingly seen as one of the barometers of progress in integration into the world economy. "In India's case, this is particularly critical, since this connectivity is the foundation underlying the growth of services exports. Progress is needed on broadband connectivity to homes, to high speed lines for firms for the efficient computer networking," it added.

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