Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) has stated that the recent wireless licensing reforms will provide faster clearance to 5G telecom infrastructure deployment in the country.
To enable quicker deployment and achieve greater coverage 5G cells will be deployed on existing street furniture such as street light, electricity poles, etc.. The requirement for a formal application for Standing Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency Allocation (SACFA) for such cases has been done away with. Under the reform initiatives, the clearance for such cases has been replaced with simple registration which can be downloaded instantly. The processing fee has also been reduced by 90 per cent. The reform is expected to reduce the transaction cost of the telecom operators providing greater coverage and a seamless experience.
Commenting on the recent reforms, T.R. Dua, director general, DIPA, said, “The reforms are in line with the Indian government’s vision for a robust network technology for the wide deployment of 4G and 5G technology to connecting all regions of India and bridging the digital divide. Without any doubt, our Prime Minister and government of India are making enormous efforts to remove all the obstacles which earlier existed in telecom industry.”
Before the reform, the clearance process was semi-online and scrutiny based making it time-consuming too. Now, the entire process has been made online, scrutiny-based clearance has been replaced with self-declaration-based clearance. The majority of the towers are cleared instantaneously. In few cases, mainly the towers located very close to airports and other strategic locations, are cleared within a maximum period of 1 month.
With this reform, the telecom infrastructure providers will fasten the quicker rollout of next generation networks helping to connect the marginalised, rural people and improving the quality of service in the country.
Meanwhile, Dua further added, “We greatly admire Indian government’s proactive approach in implementing these progressive reforms, which are positioned towards expediting a transparent, fasten and simplification of the processes of telecom infra deployment in the country and enabling ease of doing business for the telecom industry. The industry compliments these strengthening efforts being made by the government and remains committed to achieve inclusive digital growth and development in the country”.
