National Telecom Policy 2012 Approved : No Roaming Charges and Pan India MNP One Nation – One Mobile Number

The Govt of India today approved a National Telecom Policy 2012, which will replace more than a 12 years old telecom regulations and now mobile service users will be able to avail FREE Roaming and keep their Phone Numbers even if they switch service providers anywhere in the country with the Nation Wide Intra Circle MNP, proposed in the new Telecom Policy.

The cabinet has approved the new National Telecom Policy with some changes from what was proposed earlier, The New Telecom Policy recommends one Nation, one license policy across services and service areas to abolish Roaming charges. The distinction between local and STD calls would vanish, as the policy aims at a ‘one-nation-one-licence’ regime.

With the implementation of new National Telecom Policy,  Now Telecom operators/Mobile Service providers would not require any separate licences for operations in various parts of the country and a single licence would suffice.

Under the new telecom policy, telecom ministry also provisions for inter-circle Mobile Number Portability (MNP) i.e. Full MNP, which involves changing an operator while retaining the same phone number in different telecom circles.

Highlights : New National Telecom Policy 2012  :

• One Nation-One License to mean removal of Roaming charges on Mobile phone service.
• Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation – Free Roaming.
• Efforts Towards ‘Right to Broadband’
• Affordable and reliable Broadband on demand by 2015 and to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020 at minimum 2 Mbps download speed and making available higher speeds of atleast 100 Mbps on demand.
• To revise the existing broadband download speed of 256 Kbps to 512 Kbps by end of 2012 and subsequently to 2 Mbps by 2015 and higher speeds of atleast 100 Mbps thereafter.
• Mission is to have special coverage of Remote, Rural areas across India.
• Protect consumer interest by promoting informed consent, transparency and accountability in quality of service, tariff, usage etc.
• Optimize transmission of services to consumers irrespective of their devices or locations by Fixed-Mobile Convergence thus making available valuable spectrum for other wireless services.
• Convergence of services will cover voice, data, video, Internet, VAS
•  Cloud Computing, Next Generation Network including IPV6
• De-link licenses issuances & spectrum allocations
• Spectrum to be made available at market valuations
• Seek TRAI recommendation on license framework
• Will allow trading, sharing, pooling of spectrum
• Will enact a separate spectrum act

New Telecom Policy Approved: Roaming charges to go, one-nation-one-number cleared

The Cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy that proposes to abolish roaming charges on mobile phones and allow users to retain the same number across the country. 

The Cabinet approved the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012, a senior minister told reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet. 

The NTP 2012 aims to provide free roaming to telecom users and allow them to retain the mobile number even outside their circles without having to pay any extra charge. 

At present, users have to pay extra when they receive or make a call in a circle outside their home network, called roaming charges. 

Also mobile number portability is not permitted outside circle. 

The new policy aims to provide on demand broadband for all citizens and increase rural teledensity to 100% by 2020. 

The country overhauled its telecom rules after the once-booming sector was hit by a massive scandal over telecom's licence grants in 2008, which a state auditor estimated to have cost New Delhi as much as $34 billion in lost revenue. 

The new policy, which will separate licences and airwaves and will allow sharing of airwaves among carriers, also seeks to facilitate consolidation in the crowded market. 

Pricing of airwaves is, however, not part of the telecom policy, and will be set through an open auction process. 

Under NTP 2012, it has been proposed to de-link spectrum from licences, reduce number of different licences, give industry liberal mergers and acquisition norms and remove roaming charges burden from consumers. They will also be allowed to retain same number across country. 

Source:- The Economic Times

DoT celebrates World Telecommunication and Information Day

DoT celebrates World Telecommunication and Information Day 

NICF organizes Seminar on “Women and Girls in ICT” 

On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day today, a National Level Seminar on “Women and Girls in ICT” was organized by National Institute of Communication Finance (NICF) - an apex level National Training Institute of Department of Telecommunications. World Telecommunication and Information Day, celebrated each year on 17th May, marks the anniversary of the signature of the first international Telegraph Convention in 1865 which led to the creation of the International Telecommunication Unit. 

About 50 plus senior officer of Department of Telecommunication (DoT) from all over the country participated in the seminar at Ghaziabad Campus of NICF. Participants resolved to use and promote Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide new digital opportunities to women and girls in every corner of India. Presentations were made to cover various perspectives on the theme “Women and Girls in ICT Sector”. Need for bridging the digital gap between man and woman as well as ways and means to provide gender neutral technological development in the field of ICT was recommended. The role professional women can play in further developing and servicing a dynamic and competitive ICT sector needs to be acknowledged and supported by Governments, private sector, donors, civil society and education sectors etc.

Source : PIB dtd 17/05/2012

20% Discount on Broadband Usage and Rental for Central Government Employees – Application Form

20% Discount on Broadband Usage and Rental for Central Government Employees – Application Form

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited offers twenty per cent discount on broadband service charges (usage and rental) to CG Staff/State Govt Staff/PSU Staff.

A countersigned by the respect DDO in the undertaking letter should furnish with application form for applying broadband connection. In case of retired employees, an attested copy of PPO should be attached along with the application. The applicatoin form should be marked as “FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES SCHEME”.

The format of undertaken and application form is given below

BROADBAND OFFER FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES SCHEME

From
            

Dear Sir,
Sub : BSNL promotional offer availing reg.
     I would like to avail the discount of 20% in Broadband Service charges applicable for the government employees. Please find the enclosed undertaking countersigned by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer. My existing connection details are given below.
Telephone Number :
Exchange :
Customer ID :
Date:

Signature of employee

Undertaking by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer

Certified that SHRI/SHRIMATI/KUM …………………………………………………………………………………….                                                         of is a temporary/permanent employee of this (office address)…………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… from……………………………………….. (date) …………………and is at present holding the post of  …………………………………………………..  It is certified that this organization is a central / State Government / Public Sector / undertaking / statutory body. The Identity Card Number of Shri/Smt……………………................. is  ………………………………………….. This is issued for the purpose of availing the promotional offer for the government employees on BSNL broadband connection.

Ref. No. &  Date :                                                                 

 Name, Designation & address

Trai: One paisa per second plan mandatory

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked all service providers to ensure that they offer their customers atariff plan of one paisa per second along with other offerings.

The regulator in a tariff amendment order said it had become "mandatory" for service providers to offer in each service area at least one tariff plan each for both postpaid and prepaid subscriber with a uniform pulse rate of 'one second'.

"The service providers will be at liberty to offer alternative tariff plans with any pulse rate within the overall ceiling of 25 tariff plans," TRAI said in a statement.

The rates for premium rate services currently levied by service providers are substantially higher as compared to the normal tariff applicable for a two-way communication due to the fact that the charges levied also include the price for content.

Keeping in view the fact that calls and SMS made for participating in competition and voting hardly contain any content, TRAI's Telecommunication Tariff (Fifty First Amendment) Order 2012 also mandated that tariff for such calls and SMS shall not exceed four times of the applicable local call or SMS charges.

The amendment also provides flexibility to service providers to applyrevision in international long distance tariff uniformly for new as well as existing subscribers.

TRAI had issued a consultation paper in October last year on "Certain issues relating to Telecom Tariff" seeking views of stakeholders.

Most of the operators opposed when asked if one standard plan for all service providers particularly for a prepaid subscriber would be relevant in the present scenario of Indian telecom market.

The regulator has also retained the existing cap of 25 tariff plans that can be offered by access service providers including post-paid and pre-paid.

Source -TOI

Mobile Telephone Facilities in Rural Areas

Under the Draft National Telecom Policy 2012, it is proposed to increase rural teledensity from current level of around 37 to 60 by 2017 and 100 by the year 2020. 

A scheme has been launched by Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) to provide subsidy support for setting up and managing 7353 infrastructure sites/towers in 500 districts spread over 27 states for provision of mobile services in the specified rural and remote areas, where there was no existing fixed wireless or mobile coverage. As on 31.01.2012, 7296 towers have been set up under the scheme. The infrastructure so created is being shared by up to three service providers for provision of mobile services. 

Following steps are being taken by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to increase the show base: 


(i) Increase number of franchisees/Retailers. 

(ii) Implementing agreement with postal department to increase rural reach. 

(iii) Availability of products in organized retail stores, malls, neighborhood markets etc. 

(iv) Improving availability of network. 

(v) Speedy redressal of complaints through call centres. 

Steps taken/proposed to be taken by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) to increase the show base: 

(i) MTNL will be increasing its broadband & Global System for Mobile communication (GSM)/3G capacity to cater to the demand for providing futuristic services. 

(ii) Expansion/augmentation of existing 3G network to HSPA+ to provide high speed internet and high quality video and other bandwidth demanding services. 

(iii) MTNL is also expanding 2G/3G RF networks which will further improve network coverage and service experience. 

(iv) Introduction of new technology for decongestion/efficient utilization of radio frequency spectrum. 

(v) MTNL is also bundling its services with data cards and handsets from various vendors. 

(vi) Close monitoring of faults is being maintained. Emphasis has been given on the improvement of the quality of service. 

MTNL operates in Delhi and Mumbai only. BSNL undertakes the installation of towers on a continuous basis, based on techno-commercial consideration. Further BSNL has already has initiated and action for procurement of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication equipment for future expansion. 

This information was given in Lok Sabha today by Shri Milind Deora, the Minister of State, Communication and Information Technology in response to a question.