DoT to set Committees for addressing the concerns of telcos, says Telecom Secretary

According to a report by PTI, The Department of Telecom (DoT) is creating committees to begin the process on the objectives set by National Digital Communications Policy, especially around concerns raised by service providers, a top government official said.

While responding to the question of on the action plan of DoT to achieve targets set by the government under National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018, Telecom Secretary, Aruna Sundarajan stated:

"We have constituted several committees. We need to enlarge some committees... to bring inter-ministerial participation for views of Department of Finance, Department of Space and Department of IT. Most of the committees have been constituted, and now we will get down to work.”

When asked about the roadmap for rationalisation of levies and spectrum prices, the Telecom Secretary also added, "committees will start working immediately”.

The telecom secretary said that most of the issues were expected to be resolved in a year, and for some work will have to go on till 2022 as per the target date set under NDCP, PTI reports.

As the PTI reports, Sundararajan said, "We do accept two things. You need lot more spectrum for 5G to happen. Second, revenue maximisation cannot be the only objective.”

She also affirmed in the report that taking in consideration the concerns of telecom operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has already proposed up to 46 per cent reduction in price of spectrum.