Pankaj Choudhary, Deputy Chief Technology Officer – Network, Reliance Jio
Earlier, laying fibre, obtaining government permissions and arranging machinery were significant challenges. However, the situation has drastically improved over time. Today, facilities and the vendor ecosystem in India have matured, and the speed of fibre roll-out has increased considerably. For instance, Jio has laid approximately 1 million km of fibre across various areas within just 10 years. Currently, the telco operates about 0.3 million macro towers and approximately 0.25 million micro sites. Of this total, 65 per cent are already connected with fibre, with a target to reach 70 per cent within the current financial year and continue scaling up to 85 per cent eventually.
Further, Jio’s 5G traffic has already surpassed its 4G traffic, with 60 per cent of the network traffic currently on 5G. There is also strong and rising demand in both enterprise and home connectivity segments. Just a few years ago, requirements were modest, with 2-20 Mbps connections being the norm. Today, average broadband speeds are around 100 Mbps, and enterprise-level connections are reaching up to 1 Gbps.
Despite these advancements, Jio still faces some challenges related to fibre deployment.
Persistent challenges
Installing fibre along straight roads or highways is relatively easy, but the challenge arises when entering cities. Real estate developers have not consistently integrated fibre into their construction plans. Even when they do, poor maintenance and high signal losses are common.
Moreover, Right of Way (RoW) and residents’ welfare association (RWA)-related permissions continue to pose major hurdles. Many local RWAs do not grant access easily, delaying roll-outs. In many cases, multiple authorities control a single land stretch. Ideally, one approval should suffice, but in practice, fragmented and slow permissions continue to hinder progress.
While the Gati Shakti portal includes features like deemed approvals and time-bound permissions, the actual implementation remains incomplete, with many authorities still unregistered or unaligned. In addition, although there have been some improvements, like the introduction of government tools such as the Call Before You Dig (CBUD) app, the pace of progress remains slow.
The maintenance and replacement of fibre continue to be major challenges. Today, when partnerships are formed or equipment is procured, they come with associated liabilities, commitments and warranties. The financial impact of these responsibilities is no longer borne solely by telecom operators, it is shared across the entire ecosystem, including service providers, partners and vendors.
Further, the equipment industry has also evolved in parallel. Earlier, four to five fibre pairs were needed to support specific data needs; today, a single fibre can handle that load, reflecting the progress made. Despite these advancements, infrastructure challenges continue to limit the sector’s full potential.
The slowdown in fibre roll-out over the past two years can be attributed to market saturation in primary areas. Before Jio’s entry, demand was low and most telecom companies had already covered major roads and geographies. Jio’s launch spurred a surge in deployment. Now, with the primary network mostly laid, the remaining demand is more sporadic and specific, resulting in a dip in overall growth.
Steps taken and way forward
The charges related to RoW have been significantly moderated in recent years. These changes apply to fibre as well as towers and related infrastructure, easing some of the previous cost burdens.
One ongoing area of improvement is fibre mapping at the construction level, whether laid above or below ground. A fully integrated system for this is still under development. Fibre sharing does occur, but not in a universal or coordinated manner.
A potential long-term solution is a government-led integrated fibre infrastructure system, similar to how submarine cables are shared among telecom operators. If such shared infrastructure were laid along highways and major routes, it could significantly reduce costs, streamline operations and improve sustainability across the ecosystem.
Awareness among authorities is critical. Fibre must be recognised as a core utility, not a luxury. The CBUD initiative is a step in this direction, with penalties for unauthorised fibre cuts or installations. However, the true impact of CBUD will take time, possibly
a year or more, to be fully realised on the ground. Meanwhile, telecom operators are extending services into villages, border areas and other remote regions. Although there remains untapped potential, fibre reach across the country has improved considerably.
One promising development for the future is optical ground wire, which is being actively explored by telecom operators and service providers. This innovation is expected to enhance network uptime and resilience significantly. While the concept is advancing, full-scale implementation will still take time.
Based on remarks by Pankaj Choudhary, Deputy Chief Technology Officer – Network, Reliance Jio
