Anil Prakash: Secretary General, Broadband India Forum

Anil Prakash brings to the table over 35 years of experience in the telecom industry. Currently secretary general of the Broadband India Forum (BIF), he is also an active member of various task groups set up by the government and of industry bodies such as the Federation of Indian Cham­­bers of Commerce and Indus­try, the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, and the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council. He has also been associated with the Inter­national Telecommuni­cation Union (ITU) for more than a decade and has played an influential role in contributing to the ITU’s activities through the ITU-Asia Pacific Tele­co­m­mu­nity (APT) Foundation of India, of which he is the co-founder and secretary general. Prakash is an adviser and board member of several leading com­­panies and has been a jury member for the World Com­munications Award, London, since 2009. He has participated in and spoken at leading international and national seminars.

In his current position at the ITU-APT Foundation, Prakash is responsible for spreading awareness about the ITU in the private sector. At BIF, he is working in areas that could help accelerate the growth of broadband in the country, including right-of-way issues, cable TV spectrum, backhaul, V and E bands, and satellite communications.

In this rich bouquet of experience, which does he consider his most memorable assignment? “In 1994, the year telecom liberalisation began, I was entrusted with the task of setting up the India chapter of the non-profit organisation Pacific Telecommunication Council, to establish a common platform for telecom us­ers and service providers in the country. This was the first telecom association other than the Telecom Equipment Man­u­fac­turers Association of India to have people on board as corporate members,” says Prakash. “I also played an instrumental role in the formulation of the National Telecom Policy 1994 and 1999, and in the setting up of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in 1997.”

According to Prakash, the telecom sector is transitioning from being dominated by telecom operations to being driven by services, over-the-top applications, machine-to-ma­chi­ne communications and internet of things.

Prakash has a diploma in engineering and a postgraduate degree in marketing and management. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, travelling and volunteering for community services. His family includes his wife and their two children.