Going by the speed at which MF Farooqui, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, takes decisions, he could have perhaps been a good 20:20 cricket player.

In less than 12 months since he took charge at DoT, Farooqui has been able to bring some stability in the sector by pushing through with decisions, including the vexed spectrum pricing. Business Line was part of a select media briefing on the side lines of the Mobile World Congress where Farooqui spoke about issues at hand and challenges ahead. Edited excerpts:

When will you finalise spectrum trading?

We will finalise it soon. I won’t like to make a statement before the Telecom Commission takes a view. But we are in-principle okay with spectrum trading and sharing.

There should be efficient use of spectrum. We auction spectrum because if spectrum is paid for then operators will use it wisely. Similarly, trading and sharing will allow operators who are unable to use it to give it to someone who can use it efficiently.

In the National Telecom Policy 2012, a number of consumer-friendly initiatives were announced, including national mobile number portability and free roaming. None of these have happened.

We are working on the mobile number portability (MNP). There are issues related to appointing the MNP operators. But this will be done soon.

Telcos are saying that the auction price will push up tariffs. Do you agree?

There are two elements here. Competition will hold back any move by the operator that will reduce its market share. That will be one restraining factor. Second, there is a huge data opportunity. We are not asking telecom companies to make a down payment. I, therefore, think that the tariff will hold. To improve revenues, they will have to see their business model. Technology allows other services to be loaded on the network which can add to the revenue

You have been in discussion with telcos and other regulators here at MWC. What are the learnings for Indian policymakers?

Technology is moving so fast that policy and regulation will find it difficult to keep pace with the blistering pace.

Best way to deal with this is to set broad parameters and allow innovation to take place within those parameters. Industry must be free to innovate. Even smaller countries are aspiring to take advantage of technology. We need to ensure that regulations facilitate innovation.

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