Telecom regulator Trai today said it does not favour any separate category of licence for value added services (VAS) such as music and videos on mobile phones.
In a recommendation paper Trai said, "The authority does not envisage any separate category of licence for value added services."
At present, VAS providers are neither regulated nor licensed.
However, it added that there is a requirement for uniformity in various licenses and amendment of various access service licence agreements to pave way for growth of VAS particularly in mobile 2G and 3G.
VAS are offered beyond standard voice calls such as MMS, ringtones, GPRS and others. These offerings add to the usage of phones by the subscribers thus allowing the operator to drive up their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
As per Trai figures, the VAS market in India is rapidly growing at over 10% of the total revenue of mobile telecom service providers.
With the growth potential of VAS expected to breach Rs 25,000 crore by the 2009-10, the mobile revenue through them is further expected to cross 30% of the mobile telecom service providers revenue in the next 5-7 years.
The regulator further said that it may issue guidelines on consumer best practices to protect the interest of consumers.
Trai has invited stakeholder's response to these draft recommendations by January 20.
