Under Option 1, the draft paper proposes that the TRAI Act shall be suitably modified to cover adjudication of disputes between the licensor and service provider, in addition to its existing powers to adjudicate disputes amongst service providers or between service provider and consumers.

The government would mandatorily seek the recommendations of the TRAI on various issues of policy and matters related to development of the communications industry. However, the TRAI recommendations shall not be binding on the government. Under Option 2, TRAI will be involved in dispute settlement between licensor (currently department of telecom) and licensee to speed up the process of resolving any disputes.

The government will also clarify that the dispute arising out of such licensing conditions that involve fulfilment of obligation by DoT asservice-provider would fall within the jurisdiction of TRAI. Though legally not mandatory, government will normally seek recommendations from the TRAI on need and timing of new licenses and other important policy matters. However, these recommendations will not be binding on the government.

Under both the options, TRAI would continue to monitor and determine the appropriate tariff structure on an ongoing basis to equitably protect the interest of consumers and industry. However with the opening up of the communications sector and the proposed policies on interconnection amongst various service providers, it is expected that the commercial arrangements will be recommended based on bilateral arrangements.