The Communication Convergence Bill, 2001 proposes to promote, facilitate and develop in an orderly manner the carriage and content of communications including broadcasting, telecommunications and multimedia. The Act also proposes to establish an autonomous Commission to regulate carriage of all forms of communications and an Appellate Tribunal and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The proposed law prohibits any person to use any part of the spectrum without assignment from the Central Government or the statutory body ‘the Communications Commission of India’ formed under the new law. Under the proposed law, spectrum means a continuous range of electromagnetic wave of frequencies up to and including a frequency of 3000 giga hertz.
The Communications Commission of India is proposed to be established as the supreme regulatory body in India in respect of convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting, data communication, multi media and other related technologies and services. The Communications Commission of India aims to establish an open licensing policy and ensure a level playing field for all operators and to promote equitable, non-discriminatory interconnection across various networks. The proposed law seeks to facilitate development of a national infrastructure for an information based society, and to enable access thereto.
