Tamil Nadu becomes 26th state to align with Centre's telecom RoW rules

Tamil Nadu has become the 26th state to issue Right of Way (RoW) rules for easing telecom infrastructure rollout in the state, in line with the guidelines issued by the Centre in November 2016, as per telecom industry bodies.

Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala and the union territory of Daman and Diu are yet to align their rules with the guidelines issued by the Centre to facilitate expeditious rollout of telecom networks.

Telecom industry body COAI on Thursday appreciated the notification of the Tamil Nadu Telecom Infrastructure Policy 2022 and said the bye-laws are applicable to all city areas, municipal councils, town municipal councils, town panchayats, etc and include telecom towers and OFC (aerial and underground).

"We thank the State Government of Tamil Nadu for notification of Tamil Nadu Telecom Infrastructure Policy, 2022 for the installation of mobile towers and deployment of OFC across the state. This will facilitate the speedy roll-out of telecom infrastructure," COAI Director General S P Kochhar said in a statement.

As per the policy, the state government has fixed a one-time fee of Rs 10,000 per application to meet administrative expenses for the installation of telecom tower deployment.

Telecom companies will be charged Rs 1,000 per kilometre for rolling out optical fibre cable (OFC), be it underground or overground.

Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) Director General TR Dua said, "...With the continuous support of DoT, today Tamilnadu has adopted the RoW policy. Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala and Daman and Diu are the remaining ones which are yet to adopt the RoW November 2016 policy."

The policy encourages the deployment of towers, OFC, cell on wheel, micro sites, small cell, in-building solution etc that are essential to improve the digital connectivity across urban municipal corporations and other areas of Tamil Nadu.

The policy also supports the regularisation of the existing telecom infrastructure that will contribute towards the growth of the state.