Telecommunication Reforms in India revolutionized the telecom industries sector in India, which is an important factor for the growth of the Indian telecom sector and in turn helped the Indian economy to perform well for the past few years. The Telecommunication reforms in India were development and growth oriented. Technological advancements and innovations contributed largely towards the reformation of the telecom sector in India. The sector of telecom was a monopoly under the Central Government of India. During the 1990s this sector faced fierce challenges due to the development in the technological sector. The sector was privatized and with the abolition of the monopoly new player entered the consumer market. The competition increased in the telecom sector, the rates were slashed in order to grab the share of the market and the customers were provided with better services.
The
telecommunication reforms in India started in the eighties with the mission better communication. This is regarded as the first phase of the reformation process. Several private manufacturers of tailor made equipments entered the market. There were private developer for indigenous technologies and the franchisee for STD/ISD and PCO increased. The Videsh
Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) were set up under the Government of India's Department of Telecommunication.
The second phase of telecommunication reforms in India came in the early nineties. The introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the year 1991 was a landmark in the history of telecom industry sector in India. The manufacturing of equipments pertaining to telecom sector was decentralized and several value added services were introduced into the market.
The telecom services were divided into basic telephony, radio paging and cellular mobile
The TRAI was established an independent regulatory body pertaining to telecom sector. The growth of the private sector increased.
The third phase of the telecommunication reforms in India took place in the period of the late nineties. The government of India introduced the New Telecom Policy 1999. The TRAI was endowed with more power. The concept of revenue sharing was introduced to replace the fixed license fee. The National Long Distance was introduced with free entrance. Moreover, there was introduction of International Long Distance schemes. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a corporate body of the telecom service sector was formed, followed by the introduction of the Internet to the Indian market.
Impact of Telecommunication Reforms in India
- The rates of the National Long Distance were cut down by 60%
- The prices of the hand sets and telephone equipments were reduced
- The charges on calls were reduced by 8 times
- The introduction of the cellular mobile phone
- The bandwidth availability was increased
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