The Prime Minister today said troubles facing telecom sector are ending.Addressing the India Telecom 2012 conference in New Delhi, Dr.Manmohan Singh exuded confidence that the new policy being ushered in will address concerns of worrying investors and provide impetus to growth. Dr.Singh said the government allocated airwaves or spectrum carrying mobile phone signals in a transparent manner through market-related processes. Dr.Singh said while urban areas have seen rapid penetration of telecom services, rural India has low teledensity of 41 per cent.He said,the bulk of the 59 percent people who do not use phones in rural areas is perhaps from the socially and economically backward sections of the society. He asked the Department of Telecommunications to use USO Fund to bridge the rural-urban divide. The New Telecom Policy-2012 envisages 70 per cent rural penetration by 2017 and 100 per cent by 2020. Stating that there was a direct correlation between an increase in broadband connectivity and growth in country's GDP, he said broadband improves the lives by providing affordable access to information and knowledge.
He said,ensuring deeper penetration of telecom and broadband services in rural parts of the country will be crucial to bridge the rural-urban divide and achieve the goal of socially inclusive growth.