The telecom department has delayed the release of its final version of the National Telecom Policy till January next year. Telecom minister Kapil Sibal said delays in receiving recommendations on the draft policy from businesses had pushed back the formal announcement of the policy from its scheduled date in December. Industry wants some more time to respond. We will give them time. All that will happen is finalisation of the policy will happen in January instead of December, Sibal said. He said he would consider recommendations by the telecom regulator that are expected to hasten consolidation in the fifteen-player market. On Thursday,the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India proposed stopping carriers from merging only if their combined market share exceeded 60 per cent. Trai will also review mergers between carriers who between them hold 35 per cent and 60 per cent of market turnover.
