Time for a Unified License?

The

fixed service guys call it a boon for cost conscious Indian consumers. The

cellular service provider camp is up in arms, calling this move illegal and

uneconomic. All this hue and cry about the fixed service providers offering

limited mobile telephony services was not unexpected, but what is important is

its impact on the country at large, the service providers and most importantly

the consumers.

So who is right and who is wrong? It is very difficult to answer that. The

way limited mobility is being brought in for the fixed service providers, it

looks like a back door entry. Clearly, unreasonable interpretations are being

given to the simple language that has been used in the NTP’99 document. In

terms of the benefits to consumers, the limited mobile service offers few

benefits as compared to the cellular. In addition, there is still a lack of

clarity about how much the consumer will have to pay in terms of handsets and

rental. The last time that MTNL offered this service, it did not take off, and

in such a scenario how much will they invest into their limited mobility

service?

On the flip side, what is noteworthy is that the cellular penetration still

continues to be restricted due to high tariff. The private cellular service

providers also have a long way to go in terms of the quality of service.

There are a couple of things resulting from this, which are undesirable.

First is an increasing confusion in the consumer’s mind. The second important

issue is investor confidence. The interpretation of policies has created

unnecessary problems among investors, with respect to the reliability of the

words of the policy makers. All the foreign players who have stakes in the

Indian cellular pie are in jitters and do not know which way to go.

It will take some time for the dust to settle down, as the players are now

sitting on their drawing boards once again. We took a very long time in drafting

a Convergence Bill, which will hopefully offer a single license. We must move

fast to get it passed, otherwise, it will be painful for Indian communications.

One last word. Many of our readers felt that Voice&Data was a bit ahead

of times when it positioned itself as a convergence magazine. The above debate

proves that convergence is happening here, and its impact is national. At the

time of repositioning, we believed that convergence is going to be of paramount

importance in the field of communications. We are glad that we were right.

ibrahima@cmil.com