The Economic Times

India rewrites telecom rulebook, replacing licence contracts with statutory authorisations

New government rules replace the telecom industry's contractual licensing with a unilateral statutory model. Operators will now receive authorization after meeting requirements, with future government directives becoming binding terms. Violations will be treated as statutory breaches, managed internally, and can be appealed to the TDSAT. This shift aims to streamline regulation, though telcos expressed concerns about investment uncertainty.