New Delhi, April 24 (FN Bureau) With a view to improve quality of services and reducing cost, the telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday recommended sharing of active and passive infrastructure among telecom service providers, a move that would help setting up network quickly across the nation. Telecommunication service licensees should be allowed to share the passive infrastructure such as building, tower, electrical equipment including battery and power plant, dark fiber, duct space, Right of Way, etc. owned, established, and operated by them under the respective licenses with all types of telecommunication service licensees, TRAI said in its recommendations.
It said that telecom operators should also be allowed to share all types of active infrastructure elements owned, established, and operated by them under respective licenses with all types of telecommunication service licensees as per the scope of their services. “The implementation of the recommendations on telecommunication infrastructure sharing will help telecom service providers in greater cost efficiencies and improved time to market,” the TRAI said adding the recommendations on mandatory sharing of passive infrastructure laid under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) projects are aimed at extending the benefits of telecommunication coverage in underserved areas to more than one telecom service providers through effective utilization of Government funded infrastructure. Further, the recommendations on mandatory roaming on the mobile network infrastructure built with Government funding in remote and far-flung areas are aimed at reducing the hardship being faced by the subscribers due to connectivity issues of the home network provider.
In the future projects of Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (or Digital Bharat Nidhi under the Telecommunications Act, 2023), DoT should include a provision in the agreement with the Universal Service Provider (USP) that the USP shall not refuse to share the passive infrastructure laid under the project to at least two other telecom service providers on a transparent and non-discriminatory basis. With regard to sharing spectrum, the TRAI recommended that Inter-band access spectrum sharing between access service providers in an LSA should be permitted. At present only spectrum trading and intra-band spectrum sharing are permitted in the country. For a more efficient utilization of the scarce spectrum, the TRAI is of the view that spectrum leasing and inter-band spectrum sharing should also be permitted. Implementation of these recommendations will enable telecom service providers to provide better quality of service and wider coverage of telecommunication services.