Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jul 13, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jul 13, 2004 |
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Info-Tech
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Regulatory Bodies & Rulings DoT shoots down TRAI plan to slash VSAT licence fee Thomas K. Thomas
New Delhi , July 12 THE Department of Telecom (DoT) has told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that it is not in favour of reducing spectrum charges for VSAT operators. It has also said that the Department of Space is not in favour of following an open sky policy for VSAT and DTH operators owing to security concerns associated with the move. The TAI had recommended the policy measures with the view to promote Internet and broadband usage in the country. In its reply to the TRAI, the Department has said: "Wireless spectrum charges for commercial VSAT operations which was earlier on fixed terminal basis has been changed to revenue sharing basis in 2003. There appears to be no justification for further reduction in the WPC charges for VSAT operators." The DoT has also said that during the inter-Ministerial discussions on policy measures for the Internet and broadband, the Department of Space had raised objections on following an open sky policy. "The Department of Space does not foresee many more DTH operators. Hence, it is of the opinion there is no necessity to change the current policy regarding satellite access." The Department of Space has also said that commercial and VSAT licences issued by the DoT stipulate that the closed user group domestic data network shall be through INSAT satellite system only and shall be restricted to the geographical boundaries of India. "One of the reasons for limiting the VSAT services to INSAT system was the national security imperative. Therefore, the Department of Space considers it advisable not to use foreign satellites until such similar safeguards are also built-in the foreign satellite system." The DoT has said that it welcomes any arrangement that provides easy availability of quality satellite bandwidth with due care for security. It has accepted the TRAI'S recommendations to streamline frequency allocation by removing cumbersome procedures. The TRAI is expected to give its response to the observation made by the DoT this week.
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