The Indian telecom industry has been complaining about not getting access to private and public premises for deploying telecom infrastructure to provide quality services. Looking at the same, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) might soon come out with a consultation paper seeking views on mandatory deployment of telecom infra in public and private premises. For providing quality services to the masses, the telecom operators need to heavily invest in their network infrastructure. But to be able to do that, they need the permission of private and public buildings where solutions such as optic fibre cables can be deployed.
Indoor Network Coverage a Big Issue for Many Indians
Many Indians face the problem of bad indoor network coverage. To improve that, the telcos need to be able to invest in their in-building telecom infrastructure. According to an Economic Times report, TRAI will be looking to advocate the ‘ratings of buildings’ based on their readiness for appropriate inside coverage and digital connectivity. This might result in modifications in the Real Estate Regulatory Authority or the Real Estate Act, 2016.
TRAI wants to ensure that every telecom operator has equal and non-discriminatory access to the buildings and premises for laying down their infrastructure.
This move from TRAI would be a great and very timely one. It would ensure that the telcos are in the best position to make their returns out of 5G but at the same time provide excellent quality network services to their customers.
5G in higher frequency bands would require the telcos to gain more access to telecom infrastructure. At the same time, a modification in Right of Way (ROW) rules to allow operators to share their infrastructure with each other is needed. This would speed up the network rollout services time for the telcos and also enable Indian customers to get the best out of their network experience.
