Gigabit connectivity is crucial in India given the rapid rise in data consumption. India requires substantial improvement in its fibre connectivity to meet international bandwidth standards for which fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity is required.

FTTH complements 5G technology. 5G, being a higher spectrum, results in reduced in-building penetration, causing further attenuation and decreased throughput indoors. Therefore, to ensure high-speed and reliable indoor connectivity, FTTH is necessary for providing the robust backhaul required to achieve peak throughput and enhance overall connectivity.

Fibre availability in India

As per reports, India has only 0.9 km of fibre connectivity, far below the needed 2.9 km. Moreover, it is significantly behind in the fiberisation of towers, with only 40 per cent of towers fiberised, compared to 80-85 per cent in other countries.

Further, in terms of fibre broadband penetration, India stands at one-fourth of the global average level and one-fifteenth of advanced nations.

Key challenges

India faces many challenges in FTTH connectivity. These include…

  • Regulatory challenges: There are non-uniform and often exorbitant right-of-way (RoW) charges across the country. For example, RoW per km charges in Mumbai, Pune and Navi Mumbai amount to Rs 13.5 million, Rs 12.5 million and Rs 5 million, respectively. Moreover, there is inconsistent implementation of the Department of Telecommunications’ orders across various states. These disparities and high charges pose substantial obstacles to the widespread deployment of FTTH infrastructure.
  • Execution capabilities and manpower: To achieve comprehensive optical fibre cable (OFC) connectivity for 110 million households in India, the current OFC coverage of 40 million households must be significantly expanded, requiring doubling of the existing 4 million km of OFC infrastructure. This entails laying 2,200 km of OFC per day for the next five years, which is a six-fold increase from the current rate of 350 km per day. This is difficult to achieve.
  • Inadequate funding: The expansion of FTTH connectivity in India faces significant challenges due to funding shortages. According to ICRA’s 2019 estimates, the cost of laying OFC ranges from Rs 1 million-Rs 1.5 million per km, depending on the location, terrain and population density. Therefore, achieving the next 4 million km of fiberisation over the next five years would require huge funds.

The way forward

Various steps can be taken to address these challenges, such as…

Innovative solutions: Internet should be considered a utility service. Other crucial steps could be early notification of RoW rules based on the Telecom Act, 2023, mandating the creation of ducts along all national and state highways during construction, implementation of neutral digital connectivity infrastructure inside all buildings, and amendment of the Model Building By-Laws. Promoting overhead OFC on existing power lines and new buildings and using structured cable methods over electric poles can significantly reduce the time and cost of laying fibre.

Strategic, administrative and business model measures: A key step could be establishing a National Fibre Authority to oversee the laying of OFC networks for creating a national long distance network, which can be shared by all operators. Additionally, local cable operators can significantly help in fibre broadband deployment, using their extensive connections in local communities. These measures will streamline the deployment process, enhance cooperation among operators and maximise the utilisation of existing infrastructure to expedite broadband connectivity expansion across the country.

Funding: To address funding challenges, the government can provide budgetary support for building a national fibre network. Moreover, a funding arrangement can be established by creating a corpus through the issuance of tax-saving bonds by designated financial institutions. Further, incentivising the sharing of OFC to minimise duplication and costs, along with offering tax incentives would also help secure necessary funding and expedite the deployment of a comprehensive fibre network across the country.

Based on a presentation by Anil Tandan, Director General, Broadband India Forum