The telecom ministry has delayed the pan India roll out of mobile number portability (MNP) services. The government does not have any clue about the completion of the project. It will be done in phases. Completion can take several months. It will deny consumers the right to change their service providers without changing their mobile numbers. Delay in execution is because of apprehension among leading operators and technical issues. We want the PMO to step in. MNP has been hanging for a long time.
Baburajan K
Executive Editor
Voice&Data
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Three private operators -- Vodafone, Tata Teleservices and Bharti Airtel -- will unleash price war to ensure dominance in the 3G space. This is for the first time that there will be a price war in the initial stage of roll out of any service.
Baburajan K
Executive Editor
Voice&Data
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Telecom minister Sachin Pilot says broadband access price will become affordable. Consumers do not know when. Consumers in emerging markets pay huge price for their net access. Telecom ministry should look at regulating the broadband prices for the benefit of the telecom consumers.
Baburajan K
Executive Editor
Voice&Data
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Most of the telecom equipment makers in India will not maintain their last year's revenue growth in fiscal 2010-11. This is because of delay in 3G and BWA roll outs. Substantial reduction in outlay of 2G roll outs is also hampering the growth. Most of their parent companies have started giving warning signals saying the profitability will be hit because of security-related import issues. Though we can not do anything now, Indian government should have been more careful when dealing with the industry. Both small and big equipment companies are facing the music.
Baburajan K
Voice&Data
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3G will add immense pressure to operators. The pressure from 10% of their premium customers will be high since they would like to use 3G services. Operators, who do not have 3G licences in certain circles, will be forced to offer special packages to retain customers. Retaining 10% of the customers is important since they contribute around 40-50% of the revenue, according to reports. Since operators will not launch 3G in small town in the next 2-3 years, it will be critical for operators to focus on premium customers.
Baburajan K
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Thailand regulator is set to punish five telecom operators who failed to meet September 1 deadline for starting mobile number portability. $963,400 each is the penalty. India should have imposed such stringent conditions to encourage operators to start MNP. Without proper guidelines, MNP will be a dream for Indian mobile consumers.
Baburajan K
Executive Editor
Voice&Data
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Senior telecom professionals, especially the government employees, from Pakistan are not willing to come to India and attend events. The reason is obvious. They face too many hurdles to get visa. Post arrival, they do not have too much freedom to travel within the country. We also face similar issues. Recently 3-4 Indians could not travel to Islamabad to attend a two-day international event organised by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and LirneAsia of Sri Lanka.
Both Governments should actively look at reducing visa procedures. Telecom professionals respect eachother and they would like to share their knowledge. Governments need to play active role in improving telecom trade and knowledge sharing between the two nations.
Baburajan K
Executive Editor
Voice&Data
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The government should stop phone tapping as it disturbs privacy of the public. If the government wants to probe the 2g scam involving the telecom minister, there are other methods to identify the guilty.
Baburajan k
Executive Editor
VOICE&DATA
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The UAE Telecom Regulatory Authority is set to announce its VoIP policy, which is expected to bring down call charges for consumers and open telecom markets. In India, the VoIP recommendations announced by TRAI are gathering dust at the office of the ministry of telecommunications. The telecom ministry should clear its stand on VoIP. VoIP has the potential to reduce tariffs further.
Baburajan K, Executive Editor, Voice&Data
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The US is planning to spend $25 billion for offering fast and affordable Internet access to more than 90 million people. This is part of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan. The UK has also recently announced its investment plans to spruce up broadband capacities. According to reports, the US plan is likely to create jobs and will offer better access to educational and healthcare services. It will also call for a review of competition among broadband access providers. Pricing of data will also be reviewed. India must improve its broadband penetration. The 3G and WiMax roll out by service providers may not give desired result in the short term. Can the Indian government plan more investment for offering broadband access to 1 billion Indians?
Baburajan K, Executive Editor, Voice&Data
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