The Union cabinet on Thursday approved a new telecom policy, which will replace more than decade-old rules.
The cabinet approved the new policy with some changes from what was proposed earlier, Ambika Soni, the minister for information and broadcasting, told after a meeting of the cabinet.
The country overhauled its telecom rules after the once-booming sector was hit by a massive scandal over telecom license 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 telecoms policy, and will be set through an open auction process.
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The cabinet approved the new policy with some changes from what was proposed earlier, Ambika Soni, the minister for information and broadcasting, told after a meeting of the cabinet.
The country overhauled its telecom rules after the once-booming sector was hit by a massive scandal over telecom license 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 telecoms policy, and will be set through an open auction process.
....more info