Telecom Policy eyes 40 lakh new jobs, $100-b investment by 2022
Telecom Policy eyes 40 lakh
new jobs, $100-b investment by 2022
-
Broadband for all, co-use of spectrum top draft
proposals
NEW DELHI, MAY 2 -
With the goal of making the nation’s telecom infrastructure and services
ready for a digital future, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has laid
out a blueprint for large-scale reforms in the existing policy framework.
Late Tuesday night, the DoT released for public consultations the draft of
the National Telecom Policy (NTP), 2018, aka the National Digital
Communications Policy, 2018. If the policy framework achieves its objectives,
India will move from the 134th rank into the top 50 in the ICT Development
Index of the International Telecommunication Union, by 2022.
The policy aims to provide broadband connectivity for all, generating 40
lakh jobs and requiring an investment of $100 billion in the next four years.
“The draft policy is a forward-looking document and, if all the proposals
are met, there will be a lot of opportunities in this sector,” said Tilak Raj
Dua, Director General of the Towers and Infrastructure Providers’ Association.
“If the government rationalises the taxes and levies in the sector, the
investments will come in, which will help connect the rural areas.”
Universal broadband
The policy aims to provide universal broadband coverage with 50 Mbps speed
to every citizen. It also envisages 1 Gbps connectivity to all gram panchayats
by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022 under the National Broadband Mission, fixed-line
broadband access to 50 per cent of households, and a ‘unique mobile subscriber
density’ of 55 by 2020 and 65 by 2022.
Public Wi-Fi hotspots
Some of the other key highlights include deployment of public Wi-Fi
hotspots to reach 50 lakh users by 2020 and 1 crore by 2022.
“The policy is committed to providing high-speed internet to all by various
initiatives such as BharatNet, GramNet, NagarNet and Jan Wi-Fi. Broadband is
slowly becoming a basic amenity for the citizens and, by various initiatives,
the government is trying to provide high-speed connectivity at affordable
prices,” said Hemant Joshi, Partner/Leader, Technology, Media &
Telecommunications, Deloitte India.
On spectrum, the draft NTP talks about enabling ‘light-touch
licensing/de-licensing for broadband proliferation’; promoting the
co-use/secondary use of spectrum; constituting a Spectrum Advisory Team
consisting of experts; identifying and making available new spectrum bands for
access; and developing 5G networks.
The Policy also aims to increase the contribution of the digital
communications sector to GDP to 8 per cent, from the estimated 6 per cent in
2017.
The document further says there will be a review of the regulatory regime
for satellite communication technologies, including revising licensing and
regulatory conditions.
The NTP also proposes to set up a new National Fibre Authority to ensure
efficient rollout of broadband infrastructure.
Comments
Post a Comment