Mobile users may have to wait a little longer to access the benefits of free nationwide roaming Minister for communications and IT KapilSibal has affirmed that mobile users will not have to pay any roaming charges from 2013. The government had, in May this year, announced the “one nation, one licence” regime as part of the National Telecom Policy, 2012. The aim of the policy is to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile subscribers to use the same number across the country without having to pay any ex...

Mobile users may have to wait a little longer to access the benefits of free nationwide roaming Minister for communications and IT KapilSibal has affirmed that mobile users will not have to pay any roaming charges from 2013. The government had, in May this year, announced the “one nation, one licence” regime as part of the National Telecom Policy, 2012. The aim of the policy is to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile subscribers to use the same number across the country without having to pay any ex...

Bridging the rural-urban digital divide The government believes that better communication services and greater access to information can help bridge the urban–rural digital divide. Therefore, telephony and broadband connectivity in rural areas have been key thrust areas for the government for a while now. While the country’s rural teledensity increased from 2 per cent in 2006 to 33.79 per cent in March 2011, a lot remains to be achieved in ter...

TRAI needs to be empowered An industry that has rallied over 800 million telecom users and expects to cross the 1 billion mark by 2014 needs a regulator with more teeth. This has been a long-standing demand of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has not been able to ensure that operators comply with policy decisions. With the new telecom policy under way, the Ministry of Communications and IT is finally consi...

Will the Ministry succeed in empowering TRAI? An industry that has rallied over 800 million telecom users and expects to cross the 1 billion mark by 2014 needs a regulator with more teeth. This has been a long-standing demand of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which has not been able to ensure that operators comply with policy decisions. With the new telecom policy under way, the Ministry of Communications and IT is finally consi...