Shri R.N. Prabhakar is presently working as Whole Time Member, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a statutory body constituted under an Act of Parliament. TRAI regulates the telecom, broadcasting and cable TV services.

He graduated in Electrical Engineering from Delhi College of Engineering in 1967. He was adjudged as best student in Electrical Engineering faculty in 1965. He has done post graduation in Business Administration from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. He is fellow member of The Institution of Engineers (India).

After completing his engineering he worked as Lecturer in Moti Lal Nehru Regional Engineering College, Allahabad for one year. He joined Department of Telecom as Class-I Officer in February, 1970 through Engineering Service Examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission. He has 36 years of technical, administrative and financial experience in telecom sector and has held various senior level posts in Department of Telecommunications. Before retirement in January 2006, he was Advisor (Production), in the Department of Telecom, which has given him sufficient experience in the licensing and regulatory aspects. He also looked after the charge of Member (Production) in Telecom Commission.

He has participated in various international seminars and workshops and has presented technical papers related to Network Security, Regulation and Public Policy etc. He was also deputed for a period of about three years to Nigeria for imparting training totheirtelecom officers