This book analyzes the growth of the Indian telecommunications industry in the era of liberalization - a period which has witnessed significant changes. Providing a detailed critique of government policy and of industry regulation, the author of this book maintains that the healthy growth of the industry requires a radical change in the entire policy approach. He questions the general impression that the telecommunications industry has been a great success. He offers an alternative way forward describing an efficent system of public policy generated through open public debate.
Telecommunications Industry in India represents the first comprehensive study of a state-run enterprise in the telecommunications industry. The study traces over a period of half a century (1948-2009) the growth and decline of Indian Telephone Industries (ITI). At the heart of the monograph stands one central interrogation: How does the socio-technical system of production in a state-controlled firm shape the relations linking the four main actors: the state, management, union and workers? The original contribution of this book lies in combining business history and labour history within a single conceptual framework. The author evaluates the broader conclusions about the telecommunications industry and public sector through the lens of an individual firm to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of change in the globalizing Indian economy. The work is well in command of the literature on the global business history counterparts of ITI in the telecommunications industry. It is further strengthened by the use of French material on the subject which is now accessible for the first time in English. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Telecom, a phenomenon of the 1990s, has been witnessing tremendous growth, contributing to more than 2 per cent of India's GDP. Once considered a luxury, it is now accessible to all sections of society. Penetrating to even the remotest corners of the country, it is now propelling a revolution. Next to China, India is today the second largest telecom market in the world. This book highlights the unique cost structure, tariff regulation, and universal service obligations of basic telecom services. It dwells upon the different stages of spectrum allocation and management, including third generation and broadband wireless services. The trade-off between competition and industry efficiency due to limited spectrum availability and fragmentation is well emphasized. The value chain of the broadcasting sector and unique satellite applications are assessed. The book cites success stories of cost-effective operator services. The reasons for the lagging manufacturing sector in the telecom industry are carefully delineated. Finally, alliances and partnerships amongst different entities in the sector are analysed.
Kiruba Jeyaseeli Benjamin Levi highlights why the Indian telecom market is so attractive to foreign investors. She describes the rules and regulations for telecoms in India, and examines the reasons for success and failure of the foreign telecom companies in India. She identifies the prime sectors of the Indian telecom market for investment and provides recommendations to foreign companies intending to enter the Indian telecom market.
Telecommunications was vital to the imperial project and connecting India—the jewel in the British crown—was a key priority. However, intercolonial rivalries outside and within India as well as contestations between private and public ownership of telecommunications made that task difficult. The author explores these differences and ties the history of telegraph, cable, and wireless in British India to the evolving story of telecommunications in post-Independence India. This book examines the role of the telegraph, oceanic cables, and the wireless in the context of the political economy and compulsions of Empire to control global flows of communications. It argues that history is absolutely critical to understanding the present, and the imprint of the past continues to shape the Indian state’s engagements with telecommunications. This volume undertakes the project of bridging the gap between past and present, and highlighting a narrative of time- and space-specific innovation and growth tempered by political circumstances, geopolitical developments, and economic compulsions.
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.
