Consolidation in line with global practice, says Trai chief RS Sharma

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief R S Sharma has reiterated that consolidation in the domestic sector is in line with the international practice.

“My sense is that the sector is going to acquire stability, and looking at the examples around the world, 3+1 is a good number. I don’t see this number going down,” he said on the sidelines of an event here. By 3+1 he meant, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, Reliance Jio and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam.

Sharma’s comments come at a time when the Union government is preparing for the next round of airwave auctions, expected in the latter half of 2019.

This time next generation 5G spectrum services would be on offer and Sharma said that it would be the “digital tomorrow of the nation” and unlike the previous spectrums, this one will not focus on high speed or connectivity only.

“It will be an important and horizontal platform where multiple applications will ride fine, especially the real-time,” he said.

He said he was hopeful about the government’s regulations and policies, and believes that the required investments and infrastructure can be possible by the government’s favourable initiatives.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India