Appealing the telecom industry to be ‘consumer centric', Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said the growth of the telecom industry would suffer if companies ignored national interest and only pursued profit-making, as it would lead to over-regulation of the sector.
“If national interest is on one platform and you are on a profit-making platform, nothing is going to work. If the growth does not benefit the country, then there will be regulations,” Mr. Sibal said after inaugurating a three-day international workshop on “Regulatory framework for emerging telecom environment”, organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. “If it is an over-regulated environment, then you can not get growth. If it is under-regulated, then you get abused. So deciding on an optimal level is a challenge,” the Minister said, and asked the telecom operators to collaborate and look ways to share spectrum and infrastructure.
“India is at the cusp of another telecom revolution and needs a policy through which spectrum can be shared and technology neutral networks can be provided. It is time for us to consolidate the industry. We can't afford 12-13 players in a circle. I think spectrum can be shared and I don't think there is a need for over-regulation for this,” he added. Mr. Sibal also appealed to the telecom industry players to share their profits with the domestic equipment manufacturing sector. “For you to be successful, the industry has to be successful. Industry can't be successful if 90 per cent of the components of manufactured products are imported. Not just manufacturing of components, but sync with indigenous manufacturing industry so that we are self-sufficient to large percentage,” he added. Speaking at the event, TRAI Chairman J. S. Sarma said the workshop that was being attended by delegates from 25 nations would focus on analysing the emerging situation and defining the role of the regulator.
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