Telecom Bill in current form may trigger DoT-I&B tussle: Experts

MUMBAI| NEW DELHI: The draft Telecom Bill, if implemented in its current form, is likely to create unnecessary overlap, and result in a turf war between the department of telecom and the information & broadcasting ministry (MIB), feel experts.

The broadcasters are concerned with some of the clauses, which they feel are based on “flawed premises”.

“The draft unfortunately appears to be framed on a flawed understanding,” said a senior industry executive. “It assumes scarcity of spectrum across all the range of services and based on this assumption, prescribes auctioning as the primary method of dispensation. It mistakenly terms various services as “telecommunication services” whether such services use spectrum or not. This basis being flawed is naturally bound to lead to flawed legislative application and in turn sub-serve public interest as opposed to further it.”