Associate Professor, Swarna Bharathi Institute of Science & Technology
Online published on 5 May, 2016.
Indian telecommunication industry is the second largest in the world based on the total number of telephone users both fixed and mobile phones. It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the world enabled by the mega telephone networks and hyper-competition among them. The history of Indian telecom started with the introduction of telegraph. The need for independent regulation had risen with the entry of private players. Also, to fulfill the commitments made when India joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established in 1997 to regulate telecom services including fixation and revision of tariffs. The establishment of TRAI was a positive step in terms of separation of regulations from policy making and operations, which continued to be under the purview of the DoT.
