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Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India
The telecommunication sector in India is right now the second largest in the world in terms of total numbers. Till the 80s this sector was stagnant and was stifled by strict regulations and bureaucratic procedures. People had to wait for months to get a simple landline connection. But after the economic reforms in the 90s and subsequent rise of mobile phone technology, the market saw a meteoric rise and is still set for a high growth for the foreseeable future. Now it has one of the lowest tariffs on call due to extreme growth and high competition among the major telephone networks. It has also slowly built a large internet base. Volume wise, the internet users are huge but actually there are still a huge number of people still to be touched by this revolution. So, in general the telecom industry in India is a big one and still has a lot of scope for growth.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is the regulatory body in India for controlling the telecommunications business.It came up in 1997 considering the need to regulate the rapidly changing scenario in the telecom sectors. With the economic liberalization, private sectorsplayers were gradually allowed to enter the market with manufacturing telecom equipment and offering mobile telephony and related services. The government formulated the National Telecom Policy (NTP) to manage the growth of this sector and gradually allow Foreign and domestic investments in the sector. This increasing activity of the sector required a solely focused, independent body. That is why The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was formally established in 1997 through an act of the Parliament. TRAI’s mission is to create an environment that is conducive for growth of the telecom sector in India. It is basically expected to ensure policy transparency to ensure a level playing field for varied players in the industry.
A major part of TRAI is the Disputes Settlement Tribunal. It was constituted by amending the original TRAI Act in 2000 because it was noticed that quite a few business disputes were coming up. So, the tribunal was supposed to relief TRAI from day to day dispute settlement functions so that it could concentrate in strengthening the regulatory framework. Various conflicts regarding telecom licenses, service providers as well as and consumers are now resolved by the appellate tribunal. In fact the decisions of TRAI can also be appealed through this tribunal.
The TRAI plays a major role in the formative years of new Indian telecom industry because it has seen a lot of turmoil in this era. Majority of the issues have occurred because the sudden growth of the sector was completely uncharacteristic of anything India had at that point of time. During the days of socialist economy, slow growth and state control was the norm. So, when the markets were opened up a new, several new developments took place simultaneously. Firstly, the newfound freedom and investment inflow made the economy grow rapidly. As the per capita income increased, people were also having more disposable income that they choose to spend on various items that could make their life better. At the same time telecommunication was also witnessing revolutionary developments through mobile phones and related technologies. But the lucrativeness of this market also brought several regulatory issues. For example in the recent past the country has witnessed a huge debate over 2G spectrum allocations. There have also been allegations of corruption in this regard and that is where TRAI has played a major part in monitoring the situation and ensuring transparency.