To support proactive research activities into emerging and developing technologies that are anticipated to further disrupt the telecommunications and broadcasting industries, the Indian telecom regulatory authority (TRAI) has established an internal study centre. A senior TRAI official told ET Telecom that the regulatory body has formed a study centre which will indulge in pro-active research in new and forthcoming sectors. The official added that the scope would also include fact analysis and the regular release of whitepapers. In the beginning, internal human resources would be employed by the new regulatory division as research associates.
Digital Inclusion to be a Key Focus
Digital inclusion will be a focal point for the new study centre inside TRAI. The official told the publication that this would be an independent division which aims to come out with some forward-looking papers. Anil Kumar Bharadwaj, a consultant for broadcasting and cable services, has been appointed by the industry regulator to serve as the centre of study and research, or CoSR, the unit’s director general. Syed Tauseef Abbas has also been promoted by TRAI to the principal advisor for cable and broadcast services (B&CS). The new centre would make it easier for the watchdog to acquire information and might also result in time savings when making recommendations on issues relating to the two sectors that were referred by the centre. Due to its regulatory responsibilities, TRAI has been doing ongoing research on various topics related to the twin sectors and constantly monitoring best practices around the world. Despite the fact that TRAI has been publishing study findings under its many functional divisions, the new initiative would further consolidate research tasks. A whitepaper on smart cities and an analytical report on wireless data are a couple of its earlier projects. This initiative is definitely going to help India in realising its goal of a digital economy pretty fast. In complete essence, it is a step in the right direction.
