With a planned investment of more than $100 billion and 20 lakh new jobs in the ICT sector, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the first draft of the upcoming National Telecom Policy 2018. Recommendation for the new telecom policy is in line with the technological advancements in the telecom sector and customers aspiration for digital services.
The government has proposed telecom policy statement of 2018 and its major themes will,” inter-alia, be regulatory & licensing frameworks impacting the telecom sector, connectivity-for-all, quality of services, ease of doing business, and absorption of new technologies including 5G and IoT,”.
Important recommendation by TRAI for National Telecom Policy – 2018
- Twin goals – Facilitate development of communication infrastructure and services to achieve inclusive socio-economic growth in the country and to propel India to become the front-runner in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
- Increase rural teledensity to 100 percent.
- Enable access for wireline broadband services to 50 percent households in the country.
- Enable access to high-quality wireless broadband services at affordable prices to 90 percent population.
- To achieve 900 million broadband connections at a minimum download speed of 2 Mbps. Out of that at least 150 million broadband connections at a minimum download speed of 20 Mbps.
- Develop 10 million public Wi-Fi hotspots in the country.
- Attain average speed of 20 Mbps for wireless, and 50 Mbps for wireline internet connectivity.
- Enable access for connecting to 10 billion Internet of Things/Machine-to-Machine sensors/devices.
- Attract an investment equivalent to USD 100 billion in the communication sector.
- Provide data connectivity of at least 1 Gbps speed to all the Gram Panchayats.
- Develop state-of-the-art secured communication infrastructure for delivering high-quality quality services to man and machines in urban as well as rural areas.
- Establish India as a global hub for internet and data communication systems and services in a net-neutral environment.
- Aim for self-sufficiency in telecom equipment manufacturing.
These are some of the missions and objectives TRAI want to achieve with the National Telecom Policy – 2018. You could find the entire report of recommendations by TRAI for National Telecom Policy – 2018 out here. The regulator is also inviting general public including you to share inputs and feedbacks on National Telecom Policy – 2018.