Trai seeks more teeth, cable pricing power

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought key amendments to the law that specifies its role and governs its functioning.

Once legislated, the changes will give the regulator more teeth, empower it to ensure effective interconnection between networks and also impose fines on recalcitrant service providers.

The specific amendments proposed include increasing the tenure of the chairperson and members from the present three years to five (the practice in other regulatory bodies like Sebi, IRDA, CEA), power to enforce compliance of its directives in the form of penal provisions and the sole authority to determine and fix cable television (broadcast) tariffs.

The Trai Act was enacted in 1997 and subsequently amended in 2000, to separate the regulatory and dispute settlement functions through the creation of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal.

In January 2004, broadcasting and cable services were also brought under Trai purview, but no amendments to this effect were carried out.

Trai Chairman Nripendra Misra, himself a former secretary of the Department of Telecom (DoT), recently wrote a letter to the present DoT Secretary Dinesh Shankar Mathur, with a copy marked to Information and Broadcasting Secretary SK Arora, suggesting the changes.

"In the course of working of the Act, some lacunae and ambiguities have been noticed, which have led to adverse court decisions. It has also put a question mark on the capacity of Trai to deliver according to the objectives of the Act," the letter states.

The letter goes on to cite examples like cases relating to the enforcement of tariff orders and to ensure effective interconnection between service providers (BSNL has consistently opposed many Trai orders on interconnection-related issues).

"The court decisions on interconnection issues have impaired the authority in ensuring effective interconnection. The matter is before the Supreme Court and its not certain how long the court will take to decide it. In the meanwhile, telecom subscribers will continue to suffer," Misra's letter adds.

The Trai Act has very weak penal provisions, which lack deterrence. For any breach, a criminal complaint has to be filed in a magistrate's court, with the subsequent process taking many years.

"If the authority had the power to impose fines, compliance would be much better", the letter added.