The industry on Tuesday said the new telecom Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha is progressive and forward-looking, and marks groundbreaking reforms by streamlining India's licensing landscape.
Leading voices of telecom industry, including Bharti Airtel MD and CEO Gopal Vittal, and Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, lauded various provisions of the Bill, especially those related to security provisions, right of way, and simplification of licensing among others.
"I would like to warmly compliment the government for introducing a progressive and forward-looking Telecommunications Bill in Parliament. The Bill suggests groundbreaking reforms by streamlining India's licensing landscape," Vittal said.
He said the Bill aims to simplify the current "convoluted system" that includes various types of licensing (license, registration, permission), into a "more cohesive and efficient" authorisation-based regime.
"The seminal spectrum reforms initiated in 2021 eliminated SUC for future spectrum assignments and provided the option of moratorium of past spectrum dues and annual spectrum roadmap. These reforms have now gained further momentum under the proposed Telecommunications Bill 2023," he said.
The proposed legislation ensures predictability and availability of spectrum covering aspects such as refarming, harmonisation and trading/leasing/sharing. This, he said, will lead to the creation of a robust digital infrastructure and increased penetration of services, benefitting all Indians.
The captains of the telecom industry also appreciated the reforms related to Right of Way (RoW).
"The proposed reform on RoW is yet another seminal move that is set to accelerate the rollout of telecom infrastructure, including 5G in the country. The move will provide the necessary enforceability of central RoW rules at the local level," Vittal said.
The provisions related to public and private property, common ducts further instill confidence in the industry for faster rollout, he added.
According to him, another pivotal reform involves the restructuring of penalties, as the government simplifies the penalty framework regime under the proposed Bill.
This will be achieved through a tiered system of graded penalties proportionate to the breach.
"The introduction of a voluntary undertaking and an appeal process within the government aims to mitigate litigations thereby promoting more efficient resolution of disputes," he said.
Vittal said the government has rightfully retained oversight of telecom networks from a sovereign security perspective, a requirement integral to India's telecom licences over the last two decades.
Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra described the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, as a watershed moment in the telecom reform process and said it reaffirms the the government's commitment to provide Indian telecom with a future-fit framework that helps achieve the growth aspirations of new India.
