India's response to the changing international telecommunications environment

Abstract

There are fundamental changes taking place in the international telecommunications environment. Most important is the technological revolution of "converged networks" brought about by the development of the internet. Simultaneously, most countries have adopted market liberalization in varying degrees and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is opening up domestic markets to international competition. This paper by Sidharth Sinha discusses the implication of these changes for India and suggests that VSNL should be given complete autonomy, subject to regulation by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), for determining the technology and tariffs for international telecommunication as well as negotiating settlement rates with foreign carriers and interconnection charges with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). � 1999 SAGE Publications.