Telecom infrastructure is getting hard for the telcos and the infrastructure providers (IPs) to deploy in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) has raised concerns about delays in giving permissions to deploy telecom infra in UP. The state government, even after implementing a single window system for clearances and approvals is not giving permissions to applications on time. To make things worse, the telcos or the IPs can't even take the refund for applications they have already submitted as they are non-refundable.
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The issue is prominent in Ghaziabad and Noida. DIPA has requested the UP government to oversee that all the pending applications are approved as soon as possible so that telecom operators can continue with the 5G rollout. To deploy 5G, a denser infrastructure is required as the frequencies involved are higher in range than what telcos used for 4G.
UP has a single window clearance portal called Nivesh Mitra. All the telcos and IPs who want to deploy telecom infra need to submit their applications online at Nivesh Mitra. However, despite doing so, there's no real advantage as the permissions are getting delayed. DIPA said that close to 1000 applications are pending for which its members had to pay Rs 1000 (each application). Thus, the government has an amount of around Rs 10,00,000 for the applications but the approvals haven't been provided yet.
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DIPA represents major companies such as Indus Towers, ATC Telecom, Sterlite Technologies, and more. Its members are trying to deploy telecom infra in UP but they are facing major issues because of not getting approvals in time. Due to this, the consumers as well as the telecom companies will be affected. The industry body has asked the government to clear all the pending applications so that a faster rollout of 5G can happen in the state.
