Telecommunications

Microsoft Corporation, owned by the information technology baron Bill Gates, has decided to release modified versions of its Windows 98 operating system and other software to comply with a recent court order. A Washington Court … Read morePredator on the Information Highway

Even after two months of announcing of the new Telecom Policy, the actual policy contours remain totally unclear.  While the basic thrust of the policy has been indicated — henceforth even the basic Telecom services … Read moreTHE NEW TELECOM POLICY — A BLINKERED VISION

The Government has at last released the long awaited guidelines on Private sector entry in Telecom. The private sector can now provide a competitive network to the existing Department of Telecom’s  (DOT) network under an … Read moreTELECOM POLICY — IDEOLOGY NOT REALITY GUIDES POLICY

On Shri Narasimbha Rao’s visit to the United States, he carried a gift – a New Telecom Policy which would allow multi-nationals and private investors in the basic telecom services in India. This  opening of … Read moreTHE NEW TELECOM POLICY – RECIPE FOR DISASTER

A few years back, there was a revolt of the indigenous people in Chiapas, Mexico. When the Mexican Government moved in with the army and started a very repressive campaign, the Zapatistas, the group behind … Read moreThe Communications Revolution

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Thus, we had a New Telecom Policy introducing competition in telecom basic services in 1994. In 1999, we are once again introducing another brand new … Read moreTelecom Policy: Ideology and not Technology Dictates Policy

(Courtesy: Economic & Political Weekly February 7,1996) The introduction of competition in telecom basic service has become mired in controversy. A major policy change of such nature should have seen a wide ranging debate and … Read moreInduction Of Private Sector In Basic Telecom Services

The New Telecom Policy, 1999 (NTP99) show the abject surrender of BJP before the private operators and foreign interests. The National Telecom Policy, which more aptly should be termed as an Anti-national Telecom Policy has … Read moreThe Telecom Tariffs and Policies: Surrender to Private Operators

One of the supposed goals of the new telecom policy of 1994 was the development of world class production. However, even after the Department of Telecom (DoT) has started ordering equipment from the telecom majors … Read moreBuilding World Class Telecom Facilities

The growth of digital technology has put it into a direct collision course with the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime. The monopoly conferred by Copyright Laws — for printed works, music, and other artistic creations … Read moreMP3 and the Music Monopolies: Holding Back the Waves

TRAI’s tariff proposals were a time bomb waiting to explode. It speaks volumes of the incompetence or the complicity of the Government that it intervened to hold the increase of tariffs in abeyance only when … Read moreWho Regulates the Regulator: TRAI and the Telecom Mess

With the attention of the country focused on the icy  reaches of Kargil, the BJP government is all set to change the basic policy on Telecom. That this is a government which has already been … Read moreTelecom License Fees: BJP’s New Caper