New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the draft of the new telecom policy, titled ‘National Digital Communications Policy 2018’, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha told reporters.
“Emerging technologies like 5G and Internet of Things warrant the need for a new consumer-centric and application-centric policy. The government aims to improve the reach of telecom services and applications riding on the network,” Sinha said.
The last telecom policy was announced in 2012.
The government aims to provide 50 mbps broadband to all key development institutions and improve connectivity in uncovered areas under the new policy.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had on 1 May floated the draft for public consultation which has outlined goals the government wants to achieve by 2022, such as providing broadband coverage for all, creating 4 million additional jobs in the digital communications sector, apart from enhancing the contribution of the digital communications sector to 8% of India’s gross domestic product from less than 6% in 2017.
In order to attract investments of $100 billion in the digital communications sector and increase India’s contribution to global value chains, the government will review levies and fees, including licence fee, universal service obligation fund (USOF) levy and concept of pass-through revenues in line with principles of input line credit, the draft states, apart from looking at rationalising spectrum usage charges.
Currently, telecom service providers pay 3-6% and 8% of their adjusted gross revenue as spectrum usage charges and licence fee to the DoT, respectively.
After Cabinet approval, the policy will be tabled in Parliament and an institutional mechanism will be set up to keep track of the implementation of the policy.
The policy has also announced goals such as deployment of 5 million public Wi-Fi Hotspots by 2020 and 10 million by 2022 through a National Broadband Mission apart from implementing a ‘Fibre First Initiative’ to take fibre to the home by according telecom optic fibre cables the status of public utility.
The government also aims to enable infrastructure convergence for IT, telecom and broadcasting by amending the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and other relevant laws.
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