TRAI Invites Inputs On New Telecom Policy

The telecom regulator TRAI today invited public views on inputs for the proposed National Telecom Policy, which is under formulation by the government.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will give its inputs on the matter to the Telecom Department, which hopes to finalise the new policy by March 2018.

TRAI today released a consultation paper on 'Inputs for Formulation of National Telecom Policy- 2018'.

The regulator, in a statement, said that its inputs have been prepared based on preliminary discussions with multiple stakeholders including telecom operators, equipment manufacturers, industry bodies, and cloud service providers "in line with the technological advancements in the sector and customer aspirations for digital services".

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The NTP 'objectives' outlined in TRAI's consultation paper include achieving 900 million broadband connections at a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps, developing 10 million public wi-fi hotspots, attaining average speed of 20 Mbps for wireless internet connectivity, and placing India among top-50 nations in global rankings of network readiness, communications systems, and services.

Other objectives include enabling access for connecting to 10 billion Internet of Things and Machine-to-Machine sensors and devices and attracting $ 100-billion investment in the communications sector.

The TRAI paper said this can be achieved through strategies like a review of the license fee and spectrum charges, and working towards One Nation – One License for services, and making available finance for communication infrastructure projects on par with that of connectivity infrastructure sectors like roadways and railways.

It said that the policy could have twin goals - facilitating the development of communication infrastructure and services to achieve inclusive socio-economic growth and to propel India to become the front-runner in the "Fourth Industrial Revolution".

"This policy would set the mission and objectives to be accomplished by the end of calendar year 2022 when India will be celebrating its 75 years of Independence," TRAI paper said asking stakeholders to give their comments on structure and contents of the proposed NTP inputs.

The deadline for the written comments is Jan. 19, 2018.

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