The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released recommendations on ‘Licensing Framework and Regulatory Mechanism for Submarine Cable Landing in India’.

TRAI had received a reference letter from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in August 2022 seeking recommendations on licensing framework and regulatory mechanism for submarine cables landing in India within the existing unlicensed (UL) international long distance (ILD)/standalone ILD licence. The DoT raised concern that recently some Indian ILD operators (ILDOs) not having any stake in submarine cable system are seeking clearance on behalf of the owners of submarine cable for laying/maintaining such cables in India and are also applying for setting up of cable landing station (CLS) for such submarine cables. Apart from the issue flagged by DoT, the authority had suo-moto identified certain other issues related to submarine cables such as the nred for Indian flagged vessel for submarine cable operation and maintenance; enabling provisions for domestic submarine cable between two or more cities on the coastline of India; stub-cables – new concept of placing pre-laid dark fibre from the CLS through beach manhole (BMH) into the territorial waters for upcoming new cables; and clarity on terrestrial connectivity between different CLSs.

Accordingly, TRAI issued a consultation paper on ‘Licensing Framework and Regulatory Mechanism for Submarine Cable Landing in India’ on December 23, 2022. Based on the comments received from the stakeholders during the consultation process and further analysis of the issues, the regulator has finalised recommendations on licensing framework and regulatory mechanism for submarine cable landing in India.

The salient features of the recommendations are as follows:

Changes required in licensing/regulatory regime in view of the new generation submarine cable system

  • Recommendations for two categories of CLS locations – Main CLS and CLS point of presence (CLS-PoPs). The owner of the main CLS would seek all the permissions/clearances related to the submarine cable landing in their CLS in India while the owners of CLS-PoPs will not be required to seek such permissions/clearances.  However, the owner of CLS-PoPs will be required to fulfil all security and regulatory/licence obligations including the establishment of a lawful interception and monitoring (LIM) facility. They will also be required to inform licensor/TRAI about all CLS-PoP locations and their owners.
  • ILD/internet service provider (ISP) Category ‘A’ (with international internet gateway) licencees will be allowed to get access and extend their owned or leased dark fibre pair(s) in the submarine cable from the main CLS to their respective CLS-PoP location. However, owners of CLS-PoPs will be required to fulfil all other security and regulatory/licence obligation including reporting requirements and establishment of LIM facility. 
  • The revised detailed guidelines and applications for setting up main CLS and CLS-PoPs for submarine cable landing in India under respective ILD and ISP license/authorisation, be issued.

Ownership of submarine cable laying in India

  • ILD or ISP Category ‘A’ authorisation (with international internet gateway) licensee who applies for seeking permissions for establishing main CLS should submit an undertaking that they own and control the asset in Indian Territorial Waters (ITW) and at CLS. Such undertaking should be backed by either proof of ownership of the submarine cable assets as well as the assets at CLS OR by a signed agreement with SCM owner/consortium to this effect. 

Indian flagged vessel for submarine cable operation and maintenance 

  • DoT should constitute a committee comprising government representatives (from DoT, Ministry of Shipping, Shipyards at Kochi/Visakhapatnam/Mumbai, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Revenues (MoF)) and major ILDOs having stake in submarine cable to study and recommend the different financial viability models for Indian flagged repair vessels including possible incentives from government.
  • As a stop-gap arrangement, submarine cable ship repair operators active in the Indian sub-continental region may also be approached by this committee to persuade them to relocate and reflag their repair vessels to Indian port, as per requirement.
  • Cable depot should be identified on both the west and east coastline for storing submarine cable and the necessary equipment/ kit for carrying out cable repairs.
  • The committee proposed above should also be entrusted with the task of suggesting ways and means to facilitate and incentivise (same status of special economic zones (SEZs) and and) setting up of these ‘cable depots’.
  • The crew members in the survey/repair vessel for submarine laying and repair work having valid work permit of India may be exempted from obtaining clearances repeatedly during permit period.

Domestic submarine cable

  • Domestic submarine cables connecting two or more cities on the Indian coastline and setting up CLS for such cables be allowed under NLD License/authorisation with the following conditions:
  • Domestic traffic through submarine cables will be allowed.
  • Wherever required, the domestic submarine cable may be permitted to go beyond ITW or exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of India for techno-commercial benefits.
  • Equal access to facilities at the CLS including landing facilities for submarine cables of other NLD licence operators on the basis of non-discrimination shall be mandatory.
  • Access/co-location at the CLS shall be governed by the orders/regulations/directions issued by TRAI from time to time.
  • Domestic and international submarine cables can terminate at the same CLS but with each cable having its own separate network element/equipment. 
  • The requirement of necessary LIM should be based on the nature of traffic carried, being NLD or ILD and owners of CLS should maintain physical separation for terminating domestic and international traffic. 
  • International submarine cables should be allowed to carry domestic traffic on dedicated fibre pairs that are provisioned between two Indian cities. Licensee should ensure that such traffic is not transited/routed through any other country outside India.

Terrestrial link between two different cable landing stations

  • ILD and NLD licences should explicitly mention that terrestrial connectivity between different CLSs is permitted.
  • ILD licence should explicitly clarify that transit international traffic not meant to be terminated in India will be permitted to be transited to other submarine cables through terrestrial as well submarine cable links.

Stub-cable (pre-laid dark fibre submarine cable)

  • ILD/ISP Category ‘A’ licensees may be allowed, with prior permission of licensor, to lay stub-cable (pre-laid dark fibre submarine cable) and either terminate them in their existing CLS or establish new CLS for such stub-cable with following conditions: 
  • The stub cables can be laid up to any distance within EEZ.
  • The owner of stub-cable must disclose the details of used and unused dark fibre pairs to the licensor/TRAI annually and seek prior approval from licensor for using/sharing these dark fibres with other ILDOs.
  • The owner of stub must provide access to stub-fibre pair(s) on a fair and non-discrimination basis.
  • The owner of stub will be allowed, with prior permission of licensor, to transfer the ownership of stub, if required, to other eligible seeker ILDOs/ISPs who will be responsible for the LIM and other applicable regulatory compliances.

Other issues

  • ‘Essential services’ status be accorded to CLS and submarine cables operation and maintenance services. Also, this critical communication infrastructure may be notified as critical information infrastructure (CII) under National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC).
  • Exemption of customs duty and goods and services tax (GST) on the goods and items required for CLS, and submarine operation and maintenance.                           
  • The requirement of a bond by cable ship repair vessels for availing customs duty exemptions may be done away with.
  • The clearances related to environmental impact assessment (EIA) and coastal region zone (CRZ) required for submarine cable and CLS may also be made online as a part of the Saral Sanchar portal.
  • In place of mandatory presence of DoT officials on board, DoT may pursue it with Ministry of Defence (MoD) that survey data be collected under the supervision of MoD and Indian representatives/responsible licensee officials who shall ensure appropriate safeguards.
  • Submarine cable and CLS being a critical asset, a section should be added in the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 to promote, protect and prioritise CLS and submarine cable in India.

Industry reactions:

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has welcomed the TRAI recommendations on ‘Licensing Framework and Regulatory Mechanism for Submarine Cable Landing in India’. According to COAI, the recommendation that Indian entity-owned vessels will address undersea cable maintenance delays and reduce reliance on foreign providers for repairing subsea cables along the Indian coastline is welcomed by the industry. Further, the recommendation that the Indian entities be facilitated and incentivised for setting up of the cable depots will help in further development of the submarine cables ecosystem in India. Further, the recommendation that considering the submarine cable and CLS as a critical asset, a section should be added in the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 to promote, protect and prioritise CLS and submarine cable in India is also a positive one. It is also appreciated that the damage to sub-sea infra has been recommended to be considered as damage to critical infrastructure of national importance, and is to be strictly dealt under the Indian laws. COAI commends the measures proposed for Indian flagged repair vessels including constituting a committee to study and recommend the different financial viability models and possible incentives from the government. Additionally, the recommendation that survey data be collected under the supervision of MoD and Indian representatives/responsible licensee officials, who shall ensure adequate safeguards, rather than the mandatory requirement that DoT representatives be present during surveys of submarine cable routes conducted by telecom service providers (TSPs), is well received by the industry. 

Commenting on the recommendations, Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, director general, COAI, said, “The authority’s recommendations crucially recognise submarine cables as critical assets and provision protective measures for them. They also encourage self-reliance, while focusing on enhancing efficiency and security. The recommendations are overall positive and will help in enhancing the robustness of the submarine cables ecosystem in India, which would add to the growth of the digital communications sector by strengthening our national infrastructure.”