Appeal

Putting it very mildly, with the Communication Convergence Bill, we might be

heading for another roadblock on the communications front. According to initial

reports, the proposed bill has lots of gaps, and potential for problems in the

future. If this bill is going to be the guide for India’s communications

roadmap, then it is bad news.

While the fact is that if this bill is accepted in the Parliament, India will

be the second country in the world after Malaysia to have a framework for

developing convergence of media, the biggest fear is that not enough homework

has gone into the bill. There are lots of loose ends, which would not only

create uncertainty, but would cause controversies and conflicts. That is the

most undesirable thing at a time when we want our communications infrastructure

to really develop and grow.

This government, like it has been treating its alliance partners, does not

believe much in taking the communications industry and the user with it. The

proposed bill has been there in its form for a long time, but has never really

been thrown open to the industry or the user for feedback and inputs. It would

therefore not be incorrect to say that it is one-sided. Though the government

claims that it had the bill up on the Internet for suggestions, nobody really

knows when and where this was. The bill could possibly run into trouble later.

Such an attitude has also resulted in complete lack of awareness about the

bill. During the course of our story, we spoke to many senior industry people,

and most of them had no clue about the contents of the draft bill, which is to

be introduced in Parliament very soon. And that is also the reason for the

complete absence of excitement about something as crucial as that.

The good thing is that in spite of the promise to introduce the bill in this

session of the Parliament, the bill has not been introduced. It could be the

last opportunity to have a look at the proposed bill, and convey their concerns

and suggestions to the government of India.

I would suggest that all those who care for communications in our country go

through the story on the Communications Convergence Bill in this issue, where

some of the major and critical issues have been identified and raised. And send

your reactions/suggestions to www.voicendata.com/forum.

Ibrahim Ahmad