The Hindu Business Line : "Foreign 3G players not suited for India"

NEW DELHI: Amid a debate over entry of foreign players in 3G telecom services, telecom regulator TRAI has cautioned the finance ministry that such a move would have serious implications for the sector in terms of affordability.

"As the Authority firmly believes that allowing participation of new prospective service providers for 3G services, at this juncture, will have serious implications on the Indian telecom sector, you may like to revisit the issues before finalising the mi nistry's position on the subject," Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman of TRAI said in a letter to the Finance Secretary, Mr D Subbarao.

Last month, the TRAI had rejected the department of telecom's proposal to reconsider allowing foreign players to offer 3G telecom services, saying existing players would be able to roll out network faster.

"As the existing licensees have already made huge investments in infrastructure and their systems are in place, therefore, they will be in a better position to deliver 3G services efficiently at low incremental cost," TRAI had said in its views on permit ting new entity for 3G Services.

With the number of service providers going up to 13-14 in each circle, the regulator felt there would be sufficient competition to ensure that the spectrum is priced competitively, discourage cartelisation and offer services that are acceptable in terms of quality and price.

Mr Misra has shot off the letter to the finance secretary amid media reports that the finance ministry was backing DoT's proposal for global auction of 3G spectrum. - PTI

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