Lok Sabha Question No. 6058 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: De-Licensing of Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: VASANTHI M.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.6058 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  APRIL, 2018

## DE-LICENSING OF SERVICES

## 6058. SHRIMATI VASANTHI M.:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the current telecom policy and its norms are restrictive and the telecom operators are seeking revamp of the said policy and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the telecom companies have asked the Government to de-license some of the communication services in order to enable them to compete with communication applications and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(c) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the  problems  of  telecom companies?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) With a vision to provide secure, reliable, affordable and high quality converged telecommunication  services  anytime,  anywhere  for  an  accelerated  inclusive  socioeconomic development, the National Telecom Policy, 2012 was formulated with norms to  develop  a  robust  and  secure  state-of-the-art  telecommunication  network  providing seamless coverage with special focus on rural and remote areas for bridging the digital divide; to create and inclusive knowledge society through proliferation of affordable and high quality broadband services across the nation; to reposition the mobile device as an instrument of socio-economic empowerment of citizens; to make India a global hub for telecom equipment manufacturing and a centre for converged communication services; to  promote  R&D,  Design,  products  and  services  with  focus  on  security  and  green technologies; to promote development of new standards to meet national requirements, generation  of  IPRs  and  participation  in  international  standardization  bodies'  to  attract investment, both domestic and foreign; and to promote creation of jobs.

With the recent technological advancement in the Telecom Sector such as 5G, Internet of things and changed global scenario in the social sector, a need was felt to revisit  the  existing  policy  and  formulate  a  new  National  Telecom  Policy  so  that  the present and coming requirements of the telecom sector may be addressed appropriately. Accordingly, the new National Telecom Policy, 2018 is being formulated by the Department with focus on end users and newer opportunities for expanding the availability of Telecom services.

(b) No  Madam,  the  telecom  companies  have  not  asked  the  Government  to  delicense some of the communication services in order to enable them to compete with communication applications.

(c ) In  order  to  address  the  problem  of  telecom  companies,  the  government  has amended  Licenses  for  Deferred  payment  Liabilities  &  enhancing  spectrum  cap.  The Licensee may opt one time for higher number of installments including in the current financial year 2017-18 (maximum 16 installments) for deferred payment liabilities as per Notice  Inviting  Application  (NIA)  for  auctions  conducted  for  award  of  spectrum  in  the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.  Also the overall spectrum cap is revised from the current limit of 25% to 35%. The current intra-band cap is removed and a Cap of 50% on the combined spectrum holding in the sub-1 GHz bands (700 MHz, 800 MHz and  900  MHz  bands)  is  applicable.  Further  there  shall  be  no  Cap  for  individual  or combined spectrum holding in above 1 GHz band.

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