The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a
pre-consultation paper on 'Enabling unbundling of different
layers through differential licensing' on 9 December 2019
(PCP). The PCP has been issued pursuant to a reference received
from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under which the DoT
has sought TRAI's recommendations for achievement and
implementation of specific objectives set forth under
'Connect India' and 'Propel
India' missions of National Digital Communications Policy
2018 (NDCP).
Background
The NDCP encompasses broad level policy guidelines that the
government contemplates to implement for the telecommunications
sector going forward. One of the strategies envisaged in the NDCP
relates to reforming the existing licensing and regulatory regime
to catalyse investments and innovation as well as to promote ease
of doing business. With this in mind, the PCP postulates unbundling
of different layers (e.g. infrastructure, network,
