Communication at lowest price should be protected: ITU -Governance Now

Communication at lowest price should be protected: ITU

Telecom operators have warned call rates may double because of TRAI recommendations

PTI | May 9, 2012

Consumers' right to access communication services at lowest prices should be protected, a top cofficial of International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said on Wednesday.

"Constitutional right should be protected which is communication at the lowest price possible. Therefore, we are strongly recommending that we make sure that the end of this process, right of consumers is defended," ITU Secretary General Hamadoun I Toure said at the sidelines of the 6th CMAI National Telecom Awards 2012.

Sectoral regulator Trai has suggested a base price of Rs 3,622 crore for one megahertz (MHz) for pan-India spectrum, which is about 10 times higher than the price at which 2G licences bundled with 4.4 MHz spectrum were allocated in 2008.

Telecom operators, who met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Secretary R Chandrashekhar to discuss the implications of the recommendations, have warned that call rates could double if these were accepted.

Asked about his views on the right price of spectrum, Toure said the pricing of spectrum was not that a big concern as was the availability of enough spectrum.

"I'm not concerned about the prices...what I'm more concerned about is the availability of enough spectrum for them (operators)," Toure said.

As part of its recommendations, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said the government should auction 5 MHz of airwaves in the 1800 MHz band. Toure was of the view that "it should go beyond 5 Mhz".

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