The government has played an ­ins­tru­mental role in the growth of the ­tele­com sector over the years by creating a conducive policy environment while ­facto­ring in evolving market realities. In light of the paradigm shift currently taking place in the sector’s competitive landscape and the heavy debt burden being faced by telecom companies, the government has announced its decision to bring out a new National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2018.

Through this policy, the government seeks to stimulate socio-economic ­devel­opment in the country by ensuring voice, ­vi­deo and data connectivity for all, provide reliable and secure connectivity with assu­r­ed quality of service, facilitate the ­deve­­lop­­ment of infrastructure and services for new technologies such as 5G and ­internet of things (IoT), encourage ­innovation and domestic manufacturing, and develop a lar­­ge pool of digitally skilled manpower by restructuring regulatory and licensing frame­­works that impact the ­telecom sector. The overall aim of these init­i­a­tives is to aid the digital ­transfor­mation of the government, enterprises and industry, and give the country a leadership role in the world economy.

In a bid to ensure that the new policy meets all these objectives, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is seeking suggestions and proposals from industry stake­holders and the general public. To this end, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently invited a wide range of stakeholders including telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, consulting organisations, industry associations, infor­m­ation technology companies, content providers, and data centre, broadcasting and cable service companies to discuss the objectives and strategies that must be included in the new policy. Based on these discussions, TRAI has issued a consultation paper, “Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy, 2018”. Through this consultation paper, TRAI has sought the views of all stakeholders on the key focus areas to be incorporated in the NTP 2018. A look at key concerns raised in the consultation paper and the issues for deliberation…

Need for a new policy

Since liberalisation, the telecom sector has been governed by four policy statements:  the National Telecom Policy, 1994; the New Telecom Policy, 1999; the Broadband Policy, 2004; and the most recent, National Telecom Policy, 2012. The ­sector ­witness­­ed a massive transformation following the an­­nouncement of the National Tele­com Policy, 2012. Some of the key trends ­per­taining to this ­transformation have been the upgradation of mobile networks from 3G to 4G, an increase in mobile internet subscriptions, the availability of affordable smartphones, a steep decline in tariffs, and a multifold increase in the ­consumption of data. Further, industries are now turning their attention to ­upcoming technologies like machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, IoT and 5G, which promise to ­connect billions of ­sen­sors and devices. This convergence of digital and physical products thro­ugh M2M and IoT ­technol­ogies is paving the way for the fourth ­industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Indus­try 4.0 is being built around IoT and M2M ­infrastructure and services, which require the availability of global and digital ­com­mu­nications, low-cost processing and high-density data storage, and a digitally connected population of active users. To keep pace with these developments, it has become ne­­ce­­ssary to ­formulate a policy that encou­rages the ­development of ­net­works suited for IoT, data centres and associated services, data analytics, cloud computing, and home-gro­wn digital ­platforms and applications.

Further, as per TRAI, while the ­objectives of NTP 2012 relating to telecom ­services, except rural teledensity, have largely been met, the expected success in making India a global hub of manufacturing, ­development of state-of-the-art ­tech­no­logies through research and development, and the creation and incorporation of Indian ­intellectual property rights as per global standards have not been achieved. India is still ranked much lower in international indices relating to network-readiness and connectivity. The gains from increased connectivity have been inequitable, with the full benefits not reaching those who need them most. Moreover, the average internet speed in the country is still much lower than the global average.

Therefore, TRAI states that NTP 2018 should have twin goals: facilitate the development of communication infrastructure and services to achieve inclusive socio-economic growth in the country, and propel India to become a frontrunner in the fourth industrial revolution.

Further, the policy would outline the mission and objectives to be accomplished by 2022.

Mission and objectives

As per TRAI, the mission of NTP 2018 should be:

  • To fulfil the communication needs of the people, enterprises and industries at affordable prices.
  • To develop state-of-the-art secure communication infrastructure for delivering high quality services in urban as well as rural areas.
  • To establish India as a global hub for inte­rnet and data communication ­sys­tems and services in a net-neutral ­environment.
  • To make available ubiquitous, ultra-­reliable and secure connectivity with ­extremely low latency for IoT/M2M applications.
  • To develop home-grown digital ­platfor­ms and services for meeting the specific needs of the country.
  • To aim for self-sufficiency in telecom equi­p­ment manufacturing.
  • Further, TRAI states that the policy should focus on achieving the following objectives:
  • Increasing rural teledensity to 100 per cent.
  • Providing data connectivity of at least 1 Gbps speed to all gram panchayats.
  • Enabling 50 per cent households in the country to access wireline broadband services.
  • Enabling 90 per cent of the population to access high quality wireless broadband services at affordable prices.
  • Achieving 900 million broadband connections at a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps. Of these, at least 150 million broadband connections should have a minimum download speed of 20 Mbps.
  • Developing 10 million public Wi-Fi hotspots in the country.
  • Attaining an average speed of 20 Mbps for wireless and 50 Mbps for wireline internet connectivity.
  • Helping India leapfrog among the top 50 nations in international rankings in terms of network-readiness, communications systems and services.
  • Enabling access for connecting to 10 ­billion IoT/M2M sensors/devices.
  • Attracting an investment equivalent to $100 billion in the communications sector.
  • Becoming net positive in the international trade of communications systems and services.

Key strategies

The consultation paper highlights the key strategies that should be followed to achie­ve the aforementioned objectives. So­me of the strategies put forth by TRAI are as follows:

  • Separation of the network and service layers by separating licences/permissions for the roll-out of networks and provisioning of services.
  • Restructuring TRAI as the converged regulator for the information and ­com­munications technology and broadcasting sectors.
  • Establishing the office of a telecom ombudsman and centralised web-based complaint redressal system.
  • Adopting a National Broadband Plan for enabling access to at least 90 per cent households using wireline, wireless and satellite resources optimally.
  • Prescribing a licensing and regulatory frame­work for IoT/M2M service pro­viders.
  • Earmarking suitable licensed and unlicensed spectrum for IoT/M2M services.
  • Creating appropriate institutions for coordinated development of 5G services, IoT/M2M systems and their ­secu­rity framework.
  • Declaring data privacy, protection and security laws.
  • Reviewing the objectives of spectrum management to maximise socio-economic gains.
  • Promoting the use of satellites to ­provide telephony and broadband ­servi­ces in remote and inaccessible areas.
  • Prescribing a policy for cross-border data transfer.
  • Facilitating the setting-up of “special te­ch­nology zones” for experimental pro­d­ucts to invite product and ­techn­ology in­­n­­ovation and development in the country.
  • Coordinating with EXIM Bank and the Telecom Export Promotion Council to facilitate international trade of telecommunication systems and services.

Issues for deliberation

In view of the above-mentioned ­objec­tives and strategies, TRAI’s ­consultation paper seeks stakeholders’ views on the structure and content of the proposed inputs for NTP 2018, clearly outlining the specifics along with their justification. Further, the regulator has requested the stakeholders to suggest any other issues related to the policy ­framework that they feel are important for the growth of the telecom sector.

Kuhu Singh