Uniform call rates across country soon
By agencies   |   Wednesday, 15 June 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Telecom subscribers will soon have uniform rates across the country as 'OneIndia', Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, said today. According to experts, this would also lead to truly unified licenses, treating the entire country as a single market, ending the present segmentation of the national markets into different circles. Union minister for telecommunications and information technology Dayanidhi Maran today said the telecom department was giving finishing touches to the National Telecom Policy 2005. “Soon there would be no distinction between STD and local calls. There would be uniform rates and a ‘OneIndia' approach,” he told a press conference in New Delhi. Asked if this meant a change in the licensing regime, Maran said, “You read between the lines. Sanctity of licenses would have to be maintained.” He stressed that the UPA government would strive to have uniform rates across the country. Any call made within the country would be the same as calling within a state, he added. He said the new telecom policy would provide for wireless technologies like WiMax and more liberal voice over IP. Treating the entire country as a single market for telecom services would mean reworking the present licensing regime, in which long distance license holders have exclusive rights to carry calls across state boundaries. Further, there would be pressure to revise local call rates in rural areas upwards, as long distance calls would no longer be able to cross-subsidize local calls. Maran also said DoT was holding discussions with stakeholders, both CDMA and GSM players on the matter of spectrum and 3G services. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has favored a zero entry fee, and Tata has proposed a Rs 150 billion entry fee for 3G services. The issue is whether 3G should be treated as a continuum of 2G and 2.5G services. Maran told reporters that once there was clarity, the spectrum policy would be taken to the Cabinet. He, however, said operators should also make efforts to make optimum use of the available spectrum. “Let them go out and put up more towers to make efficient use of the spectrum,” he said. He also said DoT would issue guidelines on the increase in the foreign direct investment limit to 74 percent from 49 percent next week. The proposal would be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, he added. DoT has proposed that foreign holding of public sector banks and other banks be excluded in the 74 percent FDI limit and it be treated as domestic equity. The finance ministry is believed to have agreed to DoT's view.

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