ABSTRACT
This chapter describes events in the regulatory space that led to the introduction of intense competition in the telecom sector post-2008. Among other events, it deals with the first come first served (FCFS) policy, the increase in licensed entities, the 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA) auctions, and the comptroller and auditor general’s (CAG) report of 2010 that caused considerable controversy. It goes on to detail what has come to be known as the 2G case before the Supreme Court, the judgment rendered thereon in 2012, the Presidential Reference that followed, and the implications of the court-mandated spectrum allocation regime (through auction) on the future of regulatory governance in the Indian telecom sector. It summarizes the chequered history of regulatory governance in the Indian telecom services sector and the role of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) –itself moulded substantively by the judicial branch – in the growth of the sector. Regulatory gaps and silences at crucial moments have marked the regulatory approach on crucial issues, including spectrum allocation, and regulatory inaction has taken its toll on how order has been crafted in the sector over the two decades.
