India proposes free roaming, “right to broadband” in new telecom policy

India's telecommunications minister on Monday promised free nationwide roaming, an increase in broadband speeds and access and 100 percent coverage for rural Indians by 2020, unveiling a people-friendly new telecom policy even as his predecessor and several top executives await trial for their alleged involvement in the so-called $40 billion 2G telecom spectrum scam.

Kapil Sibal, who heads India's telecom and education ministries, said at a press briefing to release the draft National Telecom Policy 2011 that there would be a separate spectrum act and clear policies on “spectrum sharing, pooling, even trading,” according to India's Mint newspaper. He also said that allocation of spectrum, or radio waves, would be delinked from telecom licences and instead be done through market mechanisms—a move aimed at avoiding the repeat of the alleged 2G spectrum scam, in which the Central Bureau of Investigation alleges several firms were allotted licenses at throwaway prices in exchange for kickbacks.

The new policy will also eliminate roaming charges and allow customers to retain their numbers when switching carriers, even if they move to another region or state, Business Standard reported.

Though it was filled with big ideas, the new policy was a disappointment to stock market analysts and industry players, Mint said.  "Despite the fact that the country is going through a phase of policy paralysis, analysts were expecting clarity on a variety of issues, including spectrum pricing, spectrum refarming and roaming charges," the paper said. "The government’s department of telecommunications (DoT), however, has come out with only broad vision statements for the sector, without getting into the specifics of most of these issues."

The Financial Express took a more sanguine view, focusing on the end of stasis and looking for positives in the "broad vision."

"The draft policy comes after more than a decade under the earlier framework created by the National Telecom Policy 1999.  Indian Telecom sector has witnessed a ‘revolution’ of sorts during this period," the paper said. "Mobile phones have become ubiquitous and tariffs are among the lowest in the world. Economic activity generated through the entire Telecom eco-system has been significant and contribution to GDP has doubled to 3%."

The impact of a new agenda for broadband penetration — if it can be implemented — could be instrumental in getting millions of Indians online, particularly as it follows in the wake of India's unveiling of the world's cheapest tablet computer, the $35 Aakash, earlier this week.

Along with promising 100 percent teledensity for rural India — i.e. a phone for every person — Sibal targeted the introduction of broadband on demand, as well as 600 million broadband connections by 2020.  He also proposed that the government should introduce a bill mandating the "right to broadband" much like previous laws guaranteeing the right to information, right to education and right to food.