Introduction to industry: Telecommunications in India

For the past decade or so, telecommunication activities have gained momentum in India. Efforts have been made from both governmental and non-governmental platforms to enhance the infrastructure. The idea is to help modern telecommunication technologies to serve all segments of Indias culturally diverse society, and to transform it into a country of technologically aware people.

Modern growth
A large population, low telephony penetration levels, and a rise in consumers' income and spending owing to strong economic growth have helped make India the fastestgrowing telecom market in the world. The first and largest operator is the state-owned incumbent BSNL, which is also the 7th largest telecom company in the world in terms of its number of subscribers. BSNL was created by corporatization of the erstwhile DTS (Department of Telecommunication Services), a government unit responsible for provision of telephony services. Subsequently, after the telecommunication policies were revised to allow private operators, companies such as Bharti Telecom, Tata Indicom, Vodafone, MTNL, Idea, Vodafone and BPL have entered the space. major operators in India. However, rural India still lacks strong infrastructure. In 2007, an article by Businessweek magazine reported that India's mobile phone market is the fastest growing in the world, with companies adding some 6 million new customers a month. The total number of telephones in the country crossed the 300 million mark on June 18 2008[2]. The overall tele-density has increased to 36.98% in March 2009 In the wireless segment, 15.87 million subscribers have been added in March 2009. The total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base is more than 391.76 million now. The wireline segment subscriber base stood at 38.22 million with a decline of 0.13 million in October 2008

History

Telecom in the real sense means transfer of information between two distant points in space. The popular meaning of telecom always involves electrical signals and nowadays people exclude postal or any other raw telecommunication methods from its meaning. Therefore, the history of Indian telecom can be started with the introduction of telegraph.

Introduction of telegraph
The postal and telecom sectors had a slow and uneasy start in India. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph Line was started between Kolkata and Diamond Harbor. In 1851, it was opened for the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department at that time. Construction of 4,000 miles (6,400 km) of telegraph lines connecting Kolkata (Calcutta) and Peshawar in the north via Agra, Mumbai (Bombay) through Sindwa Ghats, and Chennai in the south, as well as Ootacamund and Bangalore was started in November 1853. Dr. William O'Shaughnessy, who pioneered telegraph and telephone in India, belonged to the Public Works Department. He tried his level best for the development of telecom through out this period. A separate department was opened in 1854 when telegraph facilities were opened to the public.

Introduction of the telephone

In 1880, two telephone companies namely The Oriental Telephone Company Ltd. and The Anglo-Indian Telephone Company Ltd. approached the Government of India to establish telephone exchanges in India. The permission was refused on the grounds that the establishment of telephones was a Government monopoly and that the Government itself would undertake the work. By 1881, the Government changed its earlier decision and a license was granted to the Oriental Telephone Company Limited of England for opening telephone exchanges at Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai (Madras) and Ahmedabad. January 28, 1882, is a Red Letter Day in the history of telephone in India. On this day Major E. Baring, Member of the Governor General of India's Council declared open the Telephone Exchange in Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. The exchange at Kolkata named "Central Exchange" was opened at third floor of the building at 7, Council House Street.

The Central Telephone Exchange had 93 number of subscribers. Bombay also witnessed the opening of Telephone Exchange in 1882.

Further developments

1902 - First wireless telegraph station established between Saugor Islands and Sandheads.

1907 - First Central Battery of telephones introduced in Kanpur. 1913-1914 - First Automatic Exchange installed in Shimla. July 23, 1927 - Radio-telegraph system between the UK and India, with beam stations at Khadki and Daund, inaugurated by Lord Irwin by exchanging greetings with the King of England.

1933 - Radiotelephone system inaugurated between the UK and India. 1953 - 12 channel carrier system introduced. 1960 - First subscriber trunk dialing route commissioned between Kanpur and Lucknow.

1975 - First PCM system commissioned between Mumbai City and Andheri telephone exchanges.

1976 - First digital microwave junction introduced. 1979 - First optical fibre system for local junction commissioned at Pune. 1980 - First satellite earth station for domestic communications established at Secunderabad, A.P..

1983 - First analog Stored Program Control exchange for trunk lines commissioned at Mumbai.

1984 - C-DOT established for indigenous development and production of digital exchanges. 1985 - First mobile telephone service started on non-commercial basis in Delhi.

While all the major cities and towns in the country were linked with telephones during the British period, the total number of telephones in 1948 was only around 80,000. Even after independence, growth was extremely slow. The telephone was a status symbol rather than being an instrument of utility. The number of telephones grew leisurely to 980,000 in 1971, 2.15 million in 1981 and 5.07 million in 1991, the year economic reforms were initiated in the country.

While certain innovative steps were taken from time to time, as for example introduction of the telex service in Mumbai in 1953 and commissioning of the first [subscriber trunk dialing] route between Delhi and Kanpur in 1960, the first waves of change were set going by Sam Pitroda in the eighties. He brought in a whiff of fresh air. The real transformation in scenario came with the announcement of the National Telecom Policy in 1994.[8]

India, emerging as a major player

In 1975, the Department of Telecom (DoT) was separated from P&T. DoT was responsible for telecom services in entire country until 1985 when Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was carved out of DoT to run the telecom services of Delhi and Mumbai. In 1990s the telecom sector was opened up by the Government for private investment as a part of Liberalisation-Privatization-Globalization policy. Therefore, it became necessary to separate the Government's policy wing from its operations wing. The Government of India corporatised the operations wing of DoT on October 01, 2000 and named it as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Many private operators, such as Reliance India Mobile, Tata Telecom, Vodafone, BPL, Bharti, Idea etc., successfully entered the high potential Indian telecom market.

Liberalisation of telecommunications in India

The Indian government was composed of many factions (parties) which had different ideologies. Some of them were willing to throw open the market to foreign players (the centrists) and others wanted the government to regulate infrastructure and restrict the involvement of foreign players. Due to this political background it was very difficult to bring about liberalization in telecommunications. When a bill was in parliament a majority vote had to be passed, and such a majority was difficult to obtain, given to the number of parties having different ideologies. Liberalization started in 1981 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed contracts with Alcatel CIT of France to merge with the state owned Telecom Company (ITI), in an effort to set up 5,000,000 lines per year. But soon the policy was let down because of opposition from leaders of the opposite political party. She invited Sam Pitroda a US based NRI to set up a Center for Development of Telematics(C-DOT), however the plan failed due to political reasons. During this period, after the assassination of Indira

Gandhi, under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi, many public sector organizations were set up like the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) , VSNL and MTNL. Many technological developments took place in this regime but still foreign players were not allowed to participate in the telecommunications business The demand for telephones was ever increasing. It was during this period that the P.N Rao led government introduced the national telecommunications policy [NTP] in 1994 which brought changes in the following areas: ownership, service and regulation of telecommunications infrastructure. They were also successful in establishing joint ventures between state owned telecom companies and international players. But still complete ownership of facilities was restricted only to the government owned organizations. Foreign firms were eligible to 49% of the total stake. The multi-nationals were just involved in technology transfer, and not policy making. During this period, the World Bank and ITU had advised the Indian Government to liberalize long distance services in order to release the monopoly of the state owned DoT and VSNL; and to enable competition in the long distance carrier business which would help reduce tariff's and better the economy of the country. The Rao run government instead liberalized the local services, taking the opposite political parties into confidence and assuring foreign involvement in the long distance business after 5 years. The country was divided into 20 telecommunication circles for basic telephony and 18 circles for mobile services. These circles were divided into category A, B and C depending on the value of the revenue in each circle. The government threw open the bids to one private company per circle along with government owned DoT per circle. For cellular service two service providers were allowed per circle and a 15 years license was given to each provider. During all these improvements, the government did face oppositions from ITI, DoT, MTNL, VSNL and other labor unions, but they managed to keep away from all the hurdles. After 1995 the government set up TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) which reduced the interference of Government in deciding tariffs and policy making. The DoT opposed this. The political powers changed in 1999 and the new government under the leadership of A.B Vajpayee was more pro-reforms and introduced better liberalization policies. They split DoT in two- one policy maker and the other service provider (DTS) which was later renamed as BSNL. The proposal of raising the stake of foreign investors from 49% to 74% was rejected by the opposite political party and leftist thinkers. Domestic business groups wanted the government to

privatize VSNL. Finally in April 2002, the government decided to cut its stake of 53% to 26% in VSNL and to throw it open for sale to private enterprises. TATA finally took 25% stake in VSNLThis was a gateway to many foreign investors to get entry into the Indian Telecom Markets. After March 2000, the government became more liberal in making policies and issuing licenses to private operators. The government further reduced license fees for cellular service providers and increased the allowable stake to 74% for foreign companies. Because of all these factors, the service fees finally reduced and the call costs were cut greatly enabling every common middle class family in India to afford a cell phone.

Growth of mobile technology

India has become one of the fastest-growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile services were commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after the number of proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly mobile subscriber additions increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and 2004-05. Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was tardy in the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff structure of mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry heralded several pro consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking up. The number of mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16 million, followed by 22 million in 2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2006. The only country with more mobile phones than India with 246 million mobile phones is China 408 million. India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the mobile sector. In addition to landline and mobile phones, some of the companies also provide the WLL service. The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$0.15 only. In 2005 alone 32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth of

the Indian mobile marketIn March 2008 the total GSM and CDMA mobile subscriber base in the country was 375 million, which represented a nearly 50% growth when compared with previous yearIn April 2008 the Indian Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed all mobile phone service users to disconnect the usage of unbranded Chinese mobile phones that do not have International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, because they pose a serious security risk to the country. Mobile network operators therefore planned to suspend the usage of around 30 million mobile phones (about 8 % of all mobiles in the country) by April 30.

Revenue and growth

The total revenue in the telecom service sector was Rs. 86,720 crore in 2005-06 as against Rs. 71, 674 crore in 2004-2005, registering a growth of 21%. The total investment in the telecom services sector reached Rs. 200,660 crore in 2005-06, up from Rs. 178,831 crore in the previous fiscal. Telecommunication is the lifeline of the rapidly growing Information Technology industry. Internet subscriber base has risen to 6.94 million in 2005- 2006. Out of this 1.35 million were broadband connections.[16] More than a billion people use the internet globally. Under the Bharat Nirman Programme, the Government of India will ensure that 66,822 revenue villages in the country, which have not yet been provided with a Village Public Telephone (VPT), will be connected. However doubts have been raised about what it would mean for the poor in the country. It is difficult to ascertain fully the employment potential of the telecom sector but the enormity of the opportunities can be gauged from the fact that there were 3.7 million Public Call Offices in December 2005 up from 2.3 million in December 2004. The value added services (VAS) market within the mobile industry in India has the potential to grow from $500 million in 2006 to a whopping $10 billion by 2009.

Sectors
Telephone
Until recently, only the PSU's BSNL and MTNL were allowed to provide Basic Phone Service through copper wires in India. MTNL is operating in Delhi and Mumbai only and all other parts are covered by BSNL. However private operators have now entered the fray, although their focus is largely on the cellular business which is growing rapidly. Telephony Subscribers (Wireless and Landline): 400.05 million (Jan 2009) Cell phones: 362.3 million (Jan 2009) Land Lines: 37.75 million (Jan 2009) Yearly Cell phone Addition: 113.26 million (2007) Monthly Cell phone Addition: 15.41 million (Jan 2009) Teledensity: 34.5% (Jan 2009) Projected teledensity: 500 million, 40% of population by 2010. Broadband connection: 6.22 million (March 2009) "Present scenerio" In the fixed line arena, BSNL and MTNL are the incumbents in their respective areas of operation and continue to enjoy the dominant service provider status in the domain of fixed line services. For example BSNL controls 79% of fixed line share in the country. On the other hand, in the mobile telephony space, Airtel controls 21.4% subscriber base followed by Reliance with 20.3%, BSNL with 18.6%, Vodafone with 14.7% subscriber base (as per June 2005 data). Following list shows the GSM subscriber figure till Jan 2009

1 Bharti Airtel 88382758 33.04% 2 Vodafone Essar 63340024 23.68%

3 BSNL 42673357 15.95% 4 IDEA 40016153 14.96% 5 Aircel 16761397 6.27% 6 Reliance Telecom 10353841 3.87% 8 MTNL 4003807 1.50% 9 BPL 2007303 0.75% All India 267538640

Telephone system: The Mobile telecommunications system in India is the second

largest in the world and it was thrown open to private players in the 1990s. The country is divided into multiple zones, called circles (roughly along state boundaries). Government and several private players run local and long distance telephone services. Competition has caused prices to drop and calls across India are one of the cheapest in the world.[25] The rates are supposed to go down further with new measures to be taken by the Information Ministry. Landlines: Landline service in India is primarily run by BSNL/MTNL and Reliance Infocomm though there are several other private players too, such as Touchtel and Tata Teleservices. Landlines are facing stiff competition from mobile telephones. The competition has forced the landline services to become more efficient. The landline network quality has improved and landline connections are now usually available on demand, even in high density urban areas.Mobile Cellular: The mobile service has seen phenomenal growth since 2000. In September 2004, the number of mobile phone connections have crossed fixed-line connections. Currently there are an estimated 201.29 million mobile phone users in India compared to 39.73 million fixed line subscribers. India primarily follows the GSM mobile system, in the 900 MHz band. Recent operators also operate in the 1800 MHz band. The dominant players are Airtel, Reliance Infocomm, Vodafone, Idea cellular and BSNL/MTNL. There are many smaller players, with operations in only a few states. International roaming agreements exist between most operators and many foreign carriers.

Dialling System: On landlines, intra circle calls are considered local calls while inter circle are considered long distance calls. Currently Government is working to integrate the whole country in one telecom circle. For long distance calls, you dial the area code prefixed with a zero (e.g. For calling Delhi, you would dial 011-XXXX XXXX). For international calls, you would dial "00" and the country code+area code+number. The country code for India is 91. Call Rates Slashed: Communication rates in India fell sharply after the year 2000 when infrastructure improvements and entry of many major players made Indian Telecom a highly competitive sector. There is a conversion process underway to make all numbers in India 10 digits long.

Internet
The number of broadband connections in india have seen a continous growth since the beginning of 2006. At the end of August 2008, total broadband connections in the country have reached 4.73 million. However the definition of broadband is pretty constrained in India compared to other countries. A 256 kbit/s always on connection is the definition of broadband in India compared to 2 Mbit/s in other countries. However most ISPs,especially the Government managed companies are now offering speeds up to 2 Mbit/s BSNL, Sify, MTNL, STPI, Airtel, Netcom, Reliance Communications and Hathway are some of the major ISPs in India. TRAI has defined broadband as 256 kbit/s or higher. However, many ISPs advertise their service as broadband but don't offer the suggested speeds. Broadband in India is more expensive as compared to Western Europe/United Kingdom and United States. After economic liberalization in 1992, many private ISPs have entered the market, many with their own local loop and gateway infrastructures. The telecom services market is regulated by TRAI. ADSL providers include:

Tata Indicom (VSNL) MTNL/BSNL Bharti Telecom (Airtel, Bharti Televentures) Reliance Infocomm

Because of the increase in ISPs and the quality of service Qos, It became cheaper to call India from around the world. Many Indians today, studying or living all around the world, are using calling cards to India to speak with their families back home. It used to be much more expensive prior to 2002. Airtel and BSNL have launched 8 Mbit/s & Reliance Communication offers 10 Mb/s broadband internet services in selected areas recently . For home users , the maximum speed for unlimited downloads is 1 Mbit/s , available for USD 60 (roughly , with taxes) Internet Users: 60,000,000 (September 2007) Source: Internet World Stats Broadband Subscribers: Broadband in India is defined as 256 kbit/s and above by the government regulator. Total subscribers were 2.3 million (April 2007) Source: TRAI Internet Users: Number of Internet users in India is the 4th largest in the world. Internet population is expected to grow to 100 million users by 2007. Though the number of internet users is high, the penetration level is still lower than most countries across the globe. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) & Hosts: 86,571 (2004) Source: CIA World Fact Book Country code (Top-level domain): IN See also: List of ISPs in India See also: Internet censorship in India Broadcasting Radio broadcast stations: AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998) Radios: 116 million (1997) Television terrestrial broadcast stations: 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997) Televisions: 110 million (2006)

In India, only the government owned Doordarshan (Door = Distant = Tele, Darshan == Vision) is allowed to broadcast terrestrial television signals. It initially had one major National channel (DD National) and a Metro channel in some of the larger cities (also known as DD Metro).

Satellite/Cable television took off during the first Gulf War with CNN. There are no regulations against ownership of satellite dish antennas, or operation of cable television systems, which led to an explosion of viewership and channels, led by the Star TV group and Zee TV. Initially restricted to music and entertainment channels, viewership grew, giving rise to several channels in regional languages and many in the national language, Hindi. The main news channels available were CNN and BBC World. In the late 1990s, many current affairs and news channels sprouted, becoming immensely popular because of the alternative viewpoint they offered compared to Doordarshan. Some of the notable ones are Aaj Tak (means Till Today, run by the India Today group) and Star News, initially run by the NDTV group and their lead anchor, Prannoy Roy (NDTV now has its own channels, NDTV 24x7, NDTV Profit,NDTV India and NDTV Imagine).New Delhi TeleVision.

DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
(DOOR SANCHAR VIBHAG) Objective:
(ITU-T), Policy, Licensing and Coordination matters relating to telegraphs, telephones, wireless, data, facsimile and telematic services and other like forms of communications. International cooperation in matters connected with telecommunications including matters relating to all international bodies dealing with telecommunications such as International Telecommunication Union (ITU), its Radio Regulation Board (RRB), Radio Communication Sector (ITU-R), Telecommunication Standardization Sector

Development Sector (ITU-D), International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (INTELSAT), International Mobile Satellite Organization (INMARSAT), Asia Pacific Telecommunication (APT). Promotion of standardization, research and development in telecommunications.

Promotion of private investment in Telecommunications.

Financial assistance for the furtherance of research and study in telecommunications technology and for building up adequately trained manpower for telecom programme, including(a) assistance to institutions, assistance to scientific institutions and to universities for advanced scientific study and research; and (b) grant of scholarships to students in educational institutions and other forms of financial aid to individuals including those going abroad for studies in the field of telecommunications. Procurement of stores and equipment required by the Department of Telecommunications Telecom Commission. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. Administration of laws with respect to any of the matters specified in this list, namely:The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885); The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 (17 of 1933); and The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 (24 of 1997).

Indian Telephone Industries Limited. Post disinvestment matters relating to M/s Hindustan Teleprinters Limited. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited and Telecommunications Consultants (India) Limited. All matters relating to Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT). Residual work relating to the erstwhile Department of Telecom Services and Department of Telecom Operations, including matters relating tocadre control functions of Group A and other categories of personnel till their absorption in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited; Execution of works, purchase and acquisition of land debitable to the capital Budget pertaining to telecommunications.

PROFILE:
The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development for a nation and hence telecom infrastructure is treated as a crucial factor to realize the socio-economic objectives in India. Accordingly, the Department of Telecom has been formulating developmental policies for the accelerated growth of the telecommunication services. The Department is also responsible for grant of licenses for various telecom services like Unified Access Service Internet and VSAT service. The Department is also responsible for frequency management in the field of radio communication in close coordination with the international bodies. It also enforces wireless regulatory measures by monitoring wireless transmission of all users in the country.

Establish- ment and incorporation of Authority 3

(a) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification appoint, there shall be established , for the purposes of this Act, an Authority to be called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. (b) The Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable , and to contact, and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued. (c) The authority shall consist of a Chairperson, and not less than two, but not exceeding six members , to be appointed by the Central Government (d) The head office of the Authority shall be at New Delhi.

Quali- fications for appointment of Chairperson and other Members. 4

(a) The Chairperson shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or who is or has been Chief Justice of a High Court . (b) A Member shall be a person who has special knowledge of, any professional experience, in telecommunication, industry, finance, accountancy, law, management and consumer affairs; Provided that a person who is or has been in the service of Government shall not be appointed as a member unless such person has held the post of Secretary or Additional Secretary, or the post of Additional Secretary and Secretary to the Government of India or any equivalent post in the Central Government or the State Government for a period of three years.

5 (a) Before appointing any person as the Chairperson or Member, the Central Government shall satisfy itself that the person does not have any such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as such member. (b) The Chairperson shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office . (c) A member shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty five years, whichever is earlier. (d) The employee of the Government on his selection as member shall have to retire from service before joining as a member. (e) The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and other members shall be such as may be prescribed. (f) The salary, allowances and other conditions of service of the Chairperson or of a member shall not be varied to this disadvantage after appointment. (g) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), a member mayrelinquish his office by giving in writing to the Central Government notice of not less than three months; or be removed from his office in accordance with the provisions of section 7. (h) The Chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such, shallbe eligible for further employment under the Central Government or any State Government; or not accept any commercial employment, for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office. (i) A vacancy caused to the office of the Chairperson or any other member shall be filled up within a period of three months from the date on which such vacancy occurs.

Explanation - For the purposes of this section, "commercial employment" means employment in any capacity under, or agency of, a person engaged in trading, commercial, industrial or financial business in any field and includes also a director of a company or partner of a firm and it also includes setting up practice either independently or as partner of a firm or as an adviser or a consultant.

Term of office conditions of service, etc., of Chair- person and other members.

6 (a) The Chairperson shall have powers of general superintendence and directions in the conduct of the affairs of the Authority and he shall, in addition to presiding over the meetings of the Authority, exercise and discharge such powers and functions of the Authority and shall discharge such other powers and functions as may be prescribed. (b) The Central Government may appoint one of the members to be a Vice-Chairperson of the Authority who shall exercise and discharge such powers and functions of the Chairperson as may be prescribed or as may be delegated to him by the Authority.

Powers of Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson

7 (1) The Central Government may remove from office any member, who,has been adjudged an insolvent; or has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude; or has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a member ; or has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a member; or has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to be public interest.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no member shall be removed from his office on the ground specified in clause (d) or clause (e) of that sub-section unless the Supreme Court on a reference being made to it in this behalf by the Central Government, has, on an enquiry, held by it in accordance with such procedure as prescribed in this behalf, reported that the member ought on such ground or grounds to be removed. (3) The Central Government may suspend from office a member in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court under Sub-Section (2) until the Central Government has passed an order on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference.

Removal and suspension of member from office in certain circum- stance

Meetings 8 (1) The Authority shall meet at such times and places, and shall observe such rules of procedures in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including quorum at such meetings) as may be provided by regulations. (2) The Chairperson or, if for any reason, he is unable to attend a meeting of the Authority, Vice-Chairperson and in his absence , any other member chosen by the members present from amongst themselves at the meeting shall preside at the meeting. (3) All questions which come up before any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson or in his absence, the person presiding, shall have a second or casting vote. (4) The Authority may make regulations for the transaction of business at its meetings. Vacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceed- ings of Authority. 9. No act or proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid merely by reason ofany vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority; or any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Authority; or

Officers and other employees of Authority. 10

. (1) The Authority may appoint officers and such other employees as it considers necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under this Act. (2) The salary and allowances payable to and the other conditions of service of the officers and other employees of the Authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be determined by regulations.

TELECOM COMMISSION:
The Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India vide Notification dated 11th April, 1989 with administrative and financial powers of the Government of India to deal with various aspects of Telecommunications. The Commission consists of a Chairman, four full time members, who are ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications and four part time members who are the Secretaries to the Government of India of the concerned Departments. The composition of the Commission is as follows:The Telecom Commission and the Department of Telecommunications are responsible for policy formulation, licensing, wireless spectrum management, administrative monitoring of PSUs, research and development and standardization/validation of equipment etc. The multi-pronged strategies followed by the Telecom Commission have not only transformed the very structure of this sector but have motivated all the partners to contribute in accelerating the growth of the sector.

DOT UNITS: Public Sector Units

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) Indian Telephone Industries Limited (ITI) Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited(MTNL)

Telecommunications Consultants India Limited(TCIL)

Other Units
Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC) Telecom Engineering Center (TEC) Controller Of Communication Accounts (CCA) Vigilance Telecom Monitoring (V.T.M.) Cell

R & D Unit

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA:

Our Mission: Subordinate Legislations of TRAI Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)
An Appellate Tribunal, known as Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate

Tribunal (TDSAT), was established by the Central Government in May, 2000 to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee; between two or more service providers; between a service provider and a group of consumers; and to hear and dispose of appeal against any direction, decision or order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The Tribunal, therefore, exercise both original and appellate jurisdiction. An appeal has been provided against the final order of the Appellate Tribunal to the

Supreme Court under Section 18 of the Act. However, there is no appeal against the interlocutory orders of the Appellate Tribunal to the Supreme Court.

Section 14-B (1) of the Act, 1997, lays down that the Appellate Tribunal shall consist

of a Chairperson and not more than two Members to be appointed, by Notification, by Central Government. Broadly, the issues involved in cases filed before the Appellate Tribunal relate to

interconnection, challenging the basis of computation of license fee by the licensor, wrongful levy and charge of royalty and license fee for frequency allocation, blocking of calls by one group of service providers, disputes relating to default traffic, challenges to tariff fixed by TRAI, encashment of bank guarantees, disputes between broadcasters etc.

COMMON CHARTER OF TELECOM SERVICES

1. All Service Providers acknowledge the rights of citizens to have a free choice in selecting their Service Providers and agree to promote their services in the best spirit of competition and traditions of service to consumers. 2. All Service Providers agree to promote the consumers right to education, choice, representation and redress; 3. All Service Providers assure that the privacy of their subscribers (not affecting the national security) shall be scrupulously guarded; 4. All Service Providers assure that their subscribers shall be entitled to interact with them, either personally or through their authorized representatives; 5. For information and education of subscribers, all Service Providers agree to inform their subscribers of the broad range of services offered, the individual plans available to them at any given point of time, the tariff rates applicable to each of these, their validity, terms and conditions, payment policies, the billing processes and procedures and the structure within the organization where information and clarification on consumer redress systems for complaints and billing disputes will be available with all their relevant contact numbers;

6. All Service Providers agree to arrange human interface with responsible company executives whose name and identity are made known during the process of disputes resolution in addition to arrangements like Customer Care Service through Call Centres; 7. All service providers agree to inform their subscribers on the reverse of each* bill, their consumer grievance redress process with respect to fault complaints and billing disputes. They also agree to resolve the disputes as per the guidelines of TRAI issued from time to time; 8. All Service Providers agree to provide an applicant basic telephone connection within 7 days of registration, subject to technical feasibility and the mobile connection immediately subject to compliance of all required formalities by the subscriber; 9. All Service Providers agree to repair the faults within 24 hours of receipt of complaint from a subscriber, wherever technically feasible; 10. All Service Providers agree to ensure shifting of telephone connection within 3 working days within the same exchange, 5 working days for intra city and 30 working days for inter city exchanges and closure (disconnection) of telephone connection within 3 days, on receipt of a letter of request from the subscriber. An authenticated copy of the last telephone bill shall accompany the letter of request; 11. All Service Providers agree to provide in their bills related call and tariff details, payment procedures and list of points at which payments can be made by subscribers; 12 All Service Providers agree to register complaints in all areas of their service immediately, if delivered in person or by e-mail and within 24 hours on receipt of the complaint by post; 13 All service providers shall render service without discrimination to every citizen as per his eligibility defined below and who undertakes to pay all charges and deposits:

 For the purpose of this clause, a citizen shall be defined as an individual above the age of 18 or an institution, NGO or business/service organization engaged in any activity which is permissible under the laws of the land. 14. All service providers agree to provide information on Directory Services and book complaints on toll free number for registering complaints. 15.All service providers agree to provide their subscribers satisfactory connectivity to their services and interconnectivity to the extent of their respective legal obligation under the relevant interconnection agreement and to ensure that subscribers do not suffer on account of poor service; 16. All service providers agree to levy reconnection charges as per the TTO or waive the same on their own discretion; 17. All service providers agree to allow emergency services like police, fire and ambulance for a period of 15 days during which incoming facility is allowed, if technically feasible, even after the telephone connection is suspended; 18. The subscribers agree to clear all dues within the specified time; 19. All Service Providers agree to achieve the minimum benchmarks prescribed by TRAI with respect to the quality of service and also commit themselves to improve upon the standards of service at different points of time; 20. Mutual courtesy and respect are the hallmarks of any durable relationship between the Service Providers and subscribers and both agree to abide by these principles.

Establish- ment and incorporation of Authority 3 (a) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification appoint, there shall be established , for the purposes of this Act, an Authority to be called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

(b) The Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable , and to contact, and shall, by the said name, sue or be sued.

(c) The authority shall consist of a Chairperson, and not less than two, but not exceeding six members , to be appointed by the Central Government

(d) The head office of the Authority shall be at New Delhi.

Quali- fications for appointment of Chairperson and other Members. 4 (a) The Chairperson shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or who is or has been Chief Justice of a High Court . (b) A Member shall be a person who has special knowledge of, any professional experience, in telecommunication, industry, finance, accountancy, law, management and consumer affairs;

Provided that a person who is or has been in the service of Government shall not be appointed as a member unless such person has held the post of Secretary or Additional Secretary, or the post of Additional Secretary and Secretary to the Government of India or any equivalent post in the Central Government or the State Government for a period of three years.

5 (a) Before appointing any person as the Chairperson or Member, the Central Government shall satisfy itself that the person does not have any such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as such member. (b) The Chairperson shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office .

(c) A member shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of sixty five years, whichever is earlier.

(d) The employee of the Government on his selection as member shall have to retire from service before joining as a member.

(e) The salary and allowances payable to and the other terms and conditions of service of the Chairperson and other members shall be such as may be prescribed.

(f) The salary, allowances and other conditions of service of the Chairperson or of a member shall not be varied to this disadvantage after appointment.

(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), a member may-

relinquish his office by giving in writing to the Central Government notice of not less than three months; or be removed from his office in accordance with the provisions of section 7.

(h) The Chairperson or any other member ceasing to hold office as such, shall-

be eligible for further employment under the Central Government or any State Government; or not accept any commercial employment, for a period of two years from the date he ceases to hold such office. (i) A vacancy caused to the office of the Chairperson or any other member shall be filled up within a period of three months from the date on which such vacancy occurs.

Explanation - For the purposes of this section, "commercial employment" means employment in any capacity under, or agency of, a person engaged in trading, commercial, industrial or financial business in any field and includes also a director of a company or partner of a firm and it also includes setting up practice either independently or as partner of a firm or as an adviser or a consultant. Term of office conditions of service, etc., of Chair- person and other members.

6 (a) The Chairperson shall have powers of general superintendence and directions in the conduct of the affairs of the Authority and he shall, in addition to presiding over the meetings of the Authority, exercise and discharge such powers and functions of the Authority and shall discharge such other powers and functions as may be prescribed. (b) The Central Government may appoint one of the members to be a Vice-Chairperson of the Authority who shall exercise and discharge such powers and functions of the Chairperson as may be prescribed or as may be delegated to him by the Authority. Powers of Chairperson and Vice- Chairperson

7 (1) The Central Government may remove from office any member, who,has been adjudged an insolvent; or has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central Government, involves moral turpitude; or has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a member ; or has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his functions as a member; or has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to be public interest. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no member shall be removed from his office on the ground specified in clause (d) or clause (e) of that sub-section unless the Supreme Court on a reference being made to it in this behalf by the Central Government, has, on an enquiry, held by it in accordance with such procedure as prescribed in this behalf, reported that the member ought on such ground or grounds to be removed.

(3) The Central Government may suspend from office a member in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court under Sub-Section (2) until the Central Government has passed an order on receipt of the report of the Supreme Court on such reference. Removal and suspension of member from office in certain circum- stance

Meetings 8 (1) The Authority shall meet at such times and places, and shall observe such rules of procedures in regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including quorum at such meetings) as may be provided by regulations.

(2) The Chairperson or, if for any reason, he is unable to attend a meeting of the Authority, Vice-Chairperson and in his absence , any other member chosen by the members present from amongst themselves at the meeting shall preside at the meeting.

(3) All questions which come up before any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present and voting, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Chairperson or in his absence, the person presiding, shall have a second or casting vote.

(4) The Authority may make regulations for the transaction of business at its meetings.

Vacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceed- ings of Authority. 9. No act or proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid merely by reason ofany vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority; or any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Authority; or any irregularity in the procedure of the Authority not affecting the merits of the case.

Officers and other employees of Authority. 10. (1) The Authority may appoint officers and such other employees as it considers necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under this Act.

(2) The salary and allowances payable to and the other conditions of service of the officers and other employees of the Authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall be such as may be determined by regulations.