Telecom and Broadband Critical to Human Development, Says COAI on World Telecommunication Day

On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) – 2017, COAI conducted a high-level roundtable to highlight and discuss the role of technology in the advancement of 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The event focused on the succcess story of the Indian telecom revolution but at the same time discussed the important policy developments which can help in addressing solutions and promoting sustainable practices through innovation and application of technology. The event was attended by experts from the industry, government, and academicians.

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The experts called for a closer collaboration between five ministries and Government departments of DoT, MoC, MeitY, MHRD, I&B and Skill Development. COAI emphasised the need for digital literacy and capacity building and creation of local language content for actualising the real potential of Digital India.

Over INR 9,27,000 crores have been invested so far by Telecom Service Providers in building world class Telecom Infrastructure. About 3.51 lakh BTSs were added, and subscribers have crossed the mark of one billion. Total internet subscribers in India are 261.31 million as per TRAI data.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI said, “India is currently the world’s second-largest telecommunications market, and it is only growing stronger. As one of the key contributors to the national growth, Indian telecom industry today has touched more lives than before. We have not only connected people, but we have also provided a robust platform for ideas and innovations to flourish. We are proud of serving over a billion Indians both connecting and empowering them for delivering the digital future. “

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Several representatives from the telecom industry attended the meeting, including Ms Swati Rangachari, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Sterlite Technologies Limited, Mr Manoj Dawane VP & Head – Technology, Government & Industry Relations, Sustainability & Corp Responsibility, Ericsson India.

Highlighting the role played by the telecom sector in taking India to the world, Mr Mathews said, “On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day today, COAI proudly announces the theme of Indian telecom industry for the year as “Telecom & Connectivity as tools for Accelerating Human Development in India.”

“By 2020, the contribution of mobile industry to the country’s GDP will increase by 8.2 percent from the current 6.5 percent. It is also expected to generate four million direct and indirect jobs over the next five years. Globally, we will also have between 26 billion and 50 billion Internet-connected devices by 2020.” he added.

“The recent results announced by the telecom companies are not an indication of a healthy growth of the industry. Immediate policy-level interventions are required to uplift the financial health of the sector and to ensure that we move in the right direction of pursuing our national goals,” Mathews further added.

Meanwhile, the industry representatives expressed their happiness and pledged their continued support for telecom and allied industry in achieving the flagship initiatives of the government such as Digital India, Cashless India, Skill India and Start Up India.

In the end, COAI also announced the schedule of Indian Mobile Congress to be held in September 2017. “Indian Mobile Congress will project the Indian telecom industry at par with the world and will fill a big vacuum between the existing events like Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Shanghai,” Mr Mathews said.

ACT Fibernet, the leading non-ISP broadband operator in the country issued a statement on the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) – 2017. “ACT Fibernet actively employs analytics across its operations to build a better understanding of customer and business processes. Big Data is a nascent tool in the analytics suite that is already enabling better customer understanding and providing valuable insights in areas such as customer journey, predictive churn analysis to name a few. We will be scaling our big data operations over this year and continue to integrate the insights and findings into our day to day operations.”