DoT proposes free entry for infrastructure providers

To promote telecom network expansion and minimise duplication, the department of telecommunications (DoT) has proposed that stand-alone infrastructure providers be permitted to set up operations in the country without payment of entry and licence fee.

DoT officials told Business Standard that these infrastructure providers could lease their network to all operators.

According to the proposal, all service providers will be permitted to use independent operators' networks to offer voice, data, internet, broadband and other value added services to their customers directly. If implemented, the DoT has said that it would issue guidelines for infrastructure sharing on a rental basis.

"In order to promote infrastructure sharing, other steps would be taken including providing information on availability and the details of shared infrastructure. Capacity should normally be shared on a first-come, first-serve basis," said an official. At present, all network operators in different telecom segments are also service providers.

Officials said entry fee and licence fee relaxation would attract investment and would also help cover costs faster. DoT intends to seek comments of service providers shortly, so that tele-density increases faster.

This practice is common in the international market, where a large number of optic fibre cable (OFC) operators and international long-distance submarine cable operators lease their infrastructure to consortiums of telecom operators.

This also paves the way for PSU OFC's like GAIL, Railtel and PowerGrid to lease their networks to any operator. It may also lead to new players enter the sector and offer services in specific telecom segments without having to set up the network.

For telecom operators, the move is bound to minimise expansion costs and offer a pan-India presence.

With a view to ensure that independent infrastructure reaps maximum benefits, DoT has proposed that roaming be made mandatory for all operators. This will ensure that all operators will have to use the infrastructure of the independent players in areas where they do not have a network. It will also mean that both BSNL and MTNL will no longer be able to retain exclusivity to roaming on their networks.

The telecom regulator will be mandated to implement rationing schemes to ensure that operators do not face any scarcity in capacity, despite the presence of stand-alone operators, the proposal said.

On the long-pending demand by private players for the unbundling of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd network, the DoT has recommended this be made applicable to all operators and not just the state-owned entities. Besides, it has also proposed to that all players be mandated to share or lease only those networks which are identified as scarce or economically unviable.

DoT is of the opinion that the scarce or economically unviable networks need not be restricted to rural areas, but can also include international bandwidth, national backbone on non-trunk routes, intra-city backbone and local loop.