The Ministry of Communications, alo­ng with the Department of Telecom­mu­nications (DoT), has launched a slew of telecom reforms, including the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP)-2022 and other procedural reforms. NFAP-2022 is being envisaged as a tool for promoting innovation and research and development (R&D) in the sector. As per the government, it has the right balance between stan­dardisation and innovation, along with being dynamic and adaptive, which will fa­cilitate ease of doing business and promote investment in the capital-intensive tele­com­munications sector.

The procedural reforms, meanwhile, are focused on various aspects of wireless licensing. Some of these have already been implemented and are expected to help in faster roll-out of networks and services, and promote ease of doing business thro­u­gh reduced compliances.

A look at the key reforms launched recently…

NFAP-2022

NFAP-2022 is a central policy roadmap that defines future spectrum usage by all bodies in the country, including DoT, the Department of Space (DoS), the Ministry of Defence, and the Ministry of Infor­ma­tion and Broadcasting, among others. It allocates new frequency bands for 5G, several licence-exempt bands to en­co­urage domestic R&D activities and new sp­ec­trum bands and provisions for satellite se­r­vices, Wi-Fi and intelligent transport systems.

Nearly 17 GHz of new additional sp­ectrum has been released for implementing 5G in all three segments of radio spectrum – below 1 GHz, 1-6 GHz and above 6 GHz. Besides, DoT has delicensed the 865-868 MHz spectrum band for internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and 433-434.7 MHz and 9-30 MHz for wireless charging. As per the document, the delicensed spectrum does not need to be auctioned and can be allocated administratively for a fee. Moreover, the document provides necessary information with regard to the usage of frequency bands from 8.3 KHz to 3000 GHz for a variety of radio services.

Further, NFAP-2022 takes into acco­unt the outcomes of the International Te­le­­communication Union’s Radio Regula­tions and the specifics for usage of spectrum by various users in India. This will provide regulatory certainty to all users of spectrum in India.

Paving the way for online clearances

Prior to the reforms, the clearance pro­cess was semi-online and scrutiny-based, which made it time-consuming. Now, the government has brought the entire pro­cess online and scrutiny-based clearances have been replaced with self-declaration-based clearances. With the new process, construction of the majority of telecom towers will be cleared instantaneously. In a few cases, mainly for towers lo­ca­ted clo­se to airports and other strategic locations, clearances will be approved within a maximum period of one month.

Further, the entire licensing process has been brought online through the Saral Sa­nchar portal. This has resulted in a re­du­ction in processing time, from an average time period of one year to a significantly lower average of two months.

Satcom reforms

A number of reforms have been introduced to simplify processes and enable waivers of charges for permissions and lic­en­ces for satellite communication (satcom) services as well. These have been launched to increase satcom provisioning in unser­ved and underserved areas of the country. These measures operate in tandem with the liberalisation programme of the DoS and InSPACe, and are expected to increase investor confidence in the satcom domain.

The key reforms in the satcom space are:

  • The time-consuming per site clearance for each user-side terminal/very small ap­er­ture terminal (VSAT) has been done away with. Instead, the govern­me­nt has brought in a single-stage sc­­ru­tiny process by the Wireless Plan­ning and Coordina­ti­on wing and the Network Ope­ration and Control Cen­ter (NOCC) of DoT. The time taken for the process, wh­i­ch used to be six to eight months, is pro­posed to be brou­ght down to six weeks.
  • The government has allowed self-verification instead of the mandatory performance verification testing (MPVT) of satellite antennas.
  • There will now be completely automated and online processing of all applications through the Saral Sanchar portal.
  • A waiver in annual NOCC charges has been introduced for both broadcasters and VSAT licensees along with a reduction in MPVT charges.
  • Further, DoT has enhanced the scope of VSAT and other licences to include user terminals on moving platforms and sa­tellite-based M2M/IoT devices.

According to the Satcom Industry As­so­ciation of India (SIA-India), the wireless licensing reforms are expected to streamline processes and enable service providers to quickly roll out networks. Further, SIA-India believes that establishing guidelines and reducing charges will make satellite-based communication networks much more affordable.

Reforms to expedite infrastructure deployment

The new reforms are also aimed at expediting infrastructure deployment and clearances to pave the way for 5G servi­ces. To enable quicker deployment and achieve greater coverage, 5G cells will be deployed on existing street furniture such as street lights and electricity poles. Fur­ther, the re­q­ui­rement for a formal application to the Standing Advisory Commit­tee on Radio Fre­quency Alloca­tion for install­ing street furniture has been done away with.

As part of the reform initiatives, clearances for such cases can be obtained by applying on the Gati Shakti Sanchar portal by paying a nominal amount of Rs 100. The processing fee has been reduced significantly, from Rs 1,000 to Rs 100. Fur­ther, the average time taken for right-of-way clearances has come down from 227 days to 7.

With this reform, telecom infrastructure providers will be able to roll out next-generation networks faster, thus connecting marginalised and rural people, and improving the quality of service in the country.

Import reforms

Another key reform is aimed at ensuring ease in bringing telecom equipment into the country. The entire import licence pro­cess has been made online and self-declaration-based clearance has been adopted instead of the earlier scrutiny-based clearance process. This will help in quicker deployment of vital telecom eq­uip­ment in the country.

Kuhu Singh Abbhi