Telecommunications Reform in India

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Rafiq Dossani

ISBN: 1-56720-502-X

ISBN-13: 978-1-56720-502-2

DOI:

280 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 5/30/2002

List Price: $102.95 (UK Sterling Price: £71.95)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

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Description: Telecommunications reform in India is complete, according to policymakers there. They have done everything correctly in their efforts to transform a state-run monopoly into an independently regulated sector in which private companies compete with government-owned and operated providers. And yet, India lags behind nations whose telecom sectors provided comparable levels of service a decade ago. What went wrong? Dossani and his contributors argue that the classic textbook solutions are insufficient to produce a healthy telecom industry in India, which needs to improve regulatory design, introduce competition in a single phase instead of gradually, implement innovative funding models, and choose appropriate technologies in order to improve access to universal service. Containing valuable lessons for the telecommunications industries in Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries taking formerly state-run industries private, this book constitutes a valuable resource for policymakers, regulators, practitioners, scholars, and overseas investors.

Policymakers and regulators will learn that cookie-cutter solutions derived from rich-country experience do not always work in countries that are poor, yet democratic and pro-market. Practitioners will be interested in the sections on universal service, technology convergence, and the implications for reducing costs and improving the quality of both basic telephone services and IT-enabled services. In particular, Indian technology workers in Silicon Valley should find this book indispensable. Investors will gain valuable knowledge about this potentially huge market. Scholars' preconceived ideas may be nudged aside as their knowledge base is enhanced and their research agenda expanded. Whereas some of the book's conclusions support current thinking, such as the need to begin a sequence of reform with a regulatory system in place and the need for dominant-carrier regulation, other conclusions challenge the conventional wisdom. Contributors make a cogent case for reformulating the balance of power between regulators and policymakers, introducing competition at the local level rather than through large franchises, and replacing public subsidies with cross-subsidies of universal service. Provides a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the problems of telecommunications reform in all their complexity.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
The Policy Agenda by Shyamal Ghosh
TRAI's Objectives and Policy Focus in a Changing Environment by M.S. Verma
An Institutional View by Rafiq Dossani and S. Manikutty
Unleashing Telecommunications and Internet in India by Ashok Jhunjhunwala
The Institutional Environment and Effects of Telecommunication Privatization and Market Liberalization in Asia by J.P. Singh
A New Approach to Service Provision by Vinod Khosla
Toward an Indian Information Economy: Lessons in Telecommunications Policy and Practice by Heather E. Hudson
Universal Service, Competition, and Economic Growth: The Case of the Hidden Subsidy by Gregory L. Rosston and Bradley S. Wimmer
Regulation and the Opening of the Mexican Telecommunications Markets by Cristina Casanueva
Pricing Interconnection and Universal Service in a Liberalized Network: Lessons for India by Yale M. Braunstein
Provision of Universal Service for Telecommunications in Densely Populated Developing Countries by F. Gasmi, J.J. Laffont, and W.W. Sharkey
Parvathagiri, Andhra Pradesh: A Case Study of Rural Telecom in India by Uday Kumar
National Telecom Policy-1994
National Telecom Policy-1999
Index

About the Author: RAFIQ DOSSANI is Senior Research Scholar, Asia/Pacific Research Center, and Executive Director of the South Asia Initiative at Stanford University.

LCC Class: 384


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