REFORMS: Wanted…by Law

Telecom Regulation



The TRAI Act, 1997, suffers from a number of infirmities. Those to be taken care of in the amendment or the new law concerning regulation are enumerated.

1. There must be directive principles and we suggest that these principles should be:

1. To promote consumer welfare by facilitating the emergence of a multiplicity of suppliers of infrastructure and information services.
2. To promote fair competition between the incumbent, i.e., the former monopolist and the new enterprises and to curb the incumbent’s market power.
3. To determine the degree and timing of competition in any aspect of infrastructure and services.

In addition, the principles should help enforce interconnectivity among all the licensed providers and give recommendations to the licensor and the government on licensing as well as policies. These recommendations must be obligatorily called for by the licensor. 

2) Unambiguous qualifications must be laid down for the members of the

TRAI.

1. None who has been in any telecom service companies/departments in the last two years prior to appointment shall be eligible to be the member of the
   
   TRAI.
2. They should be eminent persons in law, economics, business management, finance, sociology, communications, and public policy. They can be drawn from non-government sources. 
3. The Commission shall consist of six members and a chairman. Every year, two members must retire by rotation.
4. The minister for communications may only propose the names. The names must be made public; there must be a period during which public may comment upon the suitability and appropriateness of the persons proposed. A committee of three persons may then confirm or reject the nomination. The committee’s confirmation will be sent to the President of India for appointment.

No member on retiring, shall take appointment either as an advisor or as an executive in any of the telecom companies providing public services for up to two years. The age limit for a member cannot exceed 65 years. The TRAI should not appoint or take on deputation persons who were in the organizations issuing telecom licences or providing telecom services unless they ceased to be so for two years before joining TRAI. There should, however, be no bar on engaging such people as consultants for short periods for specific jobs.

3) The licensing authority must mandatorily seek the recommendations of the TRAI. The Parliament must be informed of the fact as well as the reasons.

4) Government should not give any directives to the TRAI excepting in matters that concern the security and safety of the country. Such directives must, however, have the approval of the 



cabinet.5) The TRAI should not depend for its expenses on any ministry. Its entire budget should be met from the pool into which the entrance fee, the licence fee, and the revenue shares from telecom companies go.

6) The amount collected should be put into a universal access, development, and regulation fund. It should be utilized for subsidizing deficits in the provision of village public telephones and their upkeep. The TRAI must be authorized and equipped to lay down proper accounting, apportionment, and determination procedures.

7) The TRAI should constitute consumer consultative councils at the state and national level. Periodical consultations with these councils must be obligatory.

8) The organization must have regional offices, to begin with, in three cities–Mumbai, Hyderabad/Bangalore, and

Kolkata.

9) It must have authority to fund registered telephone users’ bodies satisfying certain requirements laid down by the TRAI to help consumer bodies to effectively intervene in the various consultation processes and disputes between operators, licensors, and consumers.

10) The TRAI must have decisional jurisdiction over disputes between the licensor and the licensed companies/enterprises. If an operator is a government department or a government-owned company, it also shall be subject to the total jurisdiction of the TRAI . 

11) No licence should be terminated without prior consultation with the

TRAI.

Concluded

(Note: These thoughts were expressed by the author prior to the disbanding of

TRAI)