Cabinet approves new telecom policy with some tweaks

Thursday, May 31, 2012: The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave a green signal to the proposed National Telecom Policy (NTP) that provides for abolition of roaming charges and allows users to retain the same number across the country.
he cabinet approved the new policy with some changes from what was proposed earlier, Soni told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet, but did not elaborate.
The country overhauled its telecom rules after the once-booming sector was hit by a massive scandal over telecom licence grants in 2008, which the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has 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.