New Delhi, Sept 14: Consultant price waterhouse has said Trai's approach on proposed unification of licenses appeared to be aimed at finding a "regulatory fix" for encroachment of the WLL operators into full-blown mobility services. "In the Indian context, it appears that TRAI's approach owes more to specific lobbying, and its desire to find a regulatory fix for the encroachment of the WLL operators into full blown mobility services, rather than from a strategic review of the role that licensing can play in the development of the whole telecom sector," it said in a report prepared on behalf of Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI).
Pricewaterhouse said licensing was one of the fundamental pillars of telecom regulatory regime, and "it should not be adjusted on regular basis."
It is, therefore, highly unusual that Trai should decide to focus its review proposals only on the issue of fixed line and mobile access, it said. "It is inconsistent to focus only on restrictions between fixed and mobile."
The position paper compared telecom regime in India with that in different parts of the world such as Malaysia, European Union, Singapore and Australia and has concluded that the proposed unification of licence by Trai would neither deliver anticipated consumer benefits nor benefits to the operators.
"A number of other serious consequences will follow from Trai's proposals which will have direct adverse impact on development of the sector," it pointed out.
Bureau Report