India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced plans to develop a unified interactive portal to consolidate information about the telecom industry and users – now found across several websites – onto a single platform.
Indian news resource the Economic Times says the portal will be developed in phases. The hope is that all relevant websites will be integrated into the portal within a year.
At the moment more than ten websites function on behalf of the DoT. They operate independently with only one-way communication, meaning consumers must access various sites to resolve an issue – as must operators seeking to meet compliance requirements or organise clearances. The planned ‘super portal’, by contrast, will simplify this process and be interactive on a real-time basis with users.
The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) – the highest decision-making body in the DoT – has already cleared the proposal and work will on the portal will start soon. It will be developed by the DoT under its newly formed telecom transformation division and will house all information concerning Acts, policies and consumer initiatives relevant to the DoT.
With any luck not just paperwork will be reduced – many applications and compliances are now submitted online – but repetition. There should also be better coordination among the various stakeholders.
As Indian news services point out, quoting an official, with one unified portal all the information will be available on one platform that everyone can access in a transparent manner.
