The Telecom Revolution in India: Technology, Regulation, and Policy

India is the second largest telecommunications market in the world, next only to China. This book provides a comprehensive coverage of different telecom services-basic, mobile, national and long distance telephony, internet, satellite, television, and FM broadcasting. It offers an in-depth and valuable perspective on various aspects of this sector by analyzing network externalities, economies of scale and scope, and their effects on market structure and regulation.

Elucidating the specific characteristics of basic telecom services, it highlights its unique cost structure, tariff regulation, and universal service obligations. Illustrating the case of mobile services, it dwells upon the different stages of spectrum allocation and management-third generation and broadband wireless spectrum, including the trade-off between competition and industry efficiency due to limited spectrum availability and fragmentation. The book also explores market strategies-citing success stories of frugal innovation in operator services, innovative partnerships, and evolving indigenous mobile phones.