Regulatory initiatives to
promote universal access to
Broadband
-
Indian perspective
Arvind Kumar
Joint Advisor, TRAI, India
Rapporteur for ITU-D Study Group 6-2/1
Focus points
•
•
•
•
•
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Background and present status in India
Current means of broadband
Why universal access of broadband ?
Government initiatives
Recent recommendations of TRAI
The way forward
Background and present status
1995 :
Internet services began by Govt
owned company
1998 :
Internet services opened for
private sector participation
2000:
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
were allowed to set International
Gateways-submarine and Satellite
Background and present status
2002:
International Long distance services
opened for private sectors
2002 :
Internet telephony allowed to
ISPs (in a restricted manner)
2004 :
Broadband policy announced
2007:
Declared year of Broadband
Background and Present status
Internet Service Providers (ISP)
ISP License holders
370+
Operational ISPs
130+
Broadband Service
Providers
72
Operational Internet
Telephony Service
Providers
32
Background and present status
Subscribers
As on Dec.
2004
As on March
As on
2005
March 2006
Internet
5.45 million 5.55 million
6.94 million
9.27 million
11.09
million
Broadband
0.04 million 0.18 million
1.35 million
2.33 million
3.87
million
Wireless
Internet
-
-
31.30 Million
66.09
Million
-
As on March
2007
(through mobile
handset)
* Internet figures include 3.87 Million broadband subscribers also.
As on
March
2008
Background and present status
Broadband Policy 2004 defined the
Broadband as
“ An `always-on’ data connection that is able
to support interactive services including
Internet access and has the capability of the
minimum download speed of 256 kilo bits
per second (kbps) to an individual
subscriber from the Point of Presence
(POP) of the service provider intending to
provide Broadband service.
Current means of broadband access
Current means of broadband access
Current means of broadband access
Why universal access of broadband ?
• Communication is moving from passive to
Proactive
• Becoming global, available anywhere,
anytime
• Broadband Access will give everyone the
opportunity to be part of a massive lifestyle
change
Why universal access of broadband ?
• Rural tele-density is also increasing
• Rural broadband users are more
interested in educational material,
Agricultural material, Animal husbandry, ehealth and e-governance (Computerized
land records, Motor license, and
information related to various welfare
schemes)
• Therefore, availability of content with
perceived utility is very important
Government initiatives
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•
•
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The Government of India has recently delicensed 50 MHz spectrum in 5.825-5.875 GHz
band for WiMAX giving boost to WiMAX
deployment
Some of the service providers have already
initiated action to provide broadband using this
spectrum
WIMAX spectrum issued to Internet Service
providers on city basis
Spectrum issued in 3.3 to 3.4 GHz range and
in chunks of 6 MHz
Government initiatives
•
•
•
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Government of India has amended Indian
Telegraph Act to extend USO Fund support for
rolling out broadband services in rural areas
Licence fees for rural landline services waived
With USO fund assistance, 10000 towers are
being established for provisioning of mobile
services
These towers can be effectively utilized to
provide broadband services also
Government initiatives
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•
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USO fund Administrator would evaluate and
fund pilot projects for Induction of new
technological developments in the telecom
sector in rural and remote areas
USO Fund Administrator has already initiated
discussions to provide broadband in all blocks.
All options to provide broadband (DSL, cable,
wireless etc) are being considered
Broadband coverage of all secondary and
higher secondary schools, public health care
centers, Village and community centre
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• Government should increase the target
fixed for Incumbents for provision of
broadband connections
• For this purpose Incumbent should be
encouraged to appoint franchisees for
providing broadband services to
supplement their efforts
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• There should be total flexibility in
developing a commercial model
• Close monitoring be prescribed to ensure
effective utilization of the local loop
• Any procedural restrictions/ limitations
should be addressed immediately
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• Certification for different Customer Premises
Equipment (CPE) for interoperability
• All CPEs conforming to specifications for
interoperability should be displayed on website
for the information of customers
• Incumbents may declare future plans for
providing broadband using DSL technology to
encourage manufacturing of CPEs within
country
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• Looking at the large coverage of cable TV
networks, Cable Operators should be
encouraged to provide broadband over their
network
• In order to enable the expansion of DTH
services in the country, Govt. should ensure
availability of more number of Ku band
transponders
• This would also encourage the service providers
to roll out broadband through DTH platform
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• Uniform Right of Way (RoW) procedures
across the different states
• Rationalise RoW cost
• RoW procedures should be transparent
and publicly available
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• USO fund may be utilized to provide subsidy for
provisioning of broadband services through
satellite in remote and hilly areas
• USO fund may be utilized to subsidies backhaul
charges including International Internet
bandwidth initially for a period of 3 years to
support the rollout efforts to provide broadband
service. It may be reviewed subsequently
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
• Public private partnership need to be
encouraged to provide advantage of such
facilities to rural masses by encouraging
various value added applications
• Multiple Dwelling Units/ buildings require
to be ready by internal wiring for the
broadband
Recent TRAI’s recommendations (2008)
•
Expedite the process of allotment of
Spectrum for 3G & WiMAX
•
Internet telephony may be permitted to
ISPs with permission to provide Internet
telephony calls to PSTN/PLMN and viceversa
The way forward
• There is no definite solution for the growth of
broadband
• The broadband market is far from its peak
• It is thus exciting time for policy makers,
service providers and consumers
• Broadband has the potential to revolutionize
the communication landscape
Thanks
Contact Information:
Arvind kumar
Email :arvindtrai@gmail.com
Ph No. :+91-11-23220209 (work)
+91-9810428700 (Mobile)