August 20, 2018:

New framework is expected to focus on providing affordable Internet access to 1.3 billion Indians and facilitate domestic manufacturing to curb dependence on imports.

Government has published a Draft National Digital Communications Policy (DNDCP-2018) that eventually will supersede National Telecom Policy 2012 (NTP-2012).

DNDCP-2018 is comprehensive and takes a holistic view of increasing the penetration of high quality Digital communications in India. The vision and the objectives are commendable, especially the three-pronged approach of “CONNECT-PROPEL-SECURE” that encompasses all the aspects of the Digital communications.

Highlights of the Policy at a glance-

1. Change of name Previously known as the National Telecom Policy 2012, the NDCP marks a clear shift in priorities from just telecommunications to digital infrastructure, services and security.

2. ‘Broadband for All’ The new policy aims to make sure that every citizen has access to broadband running at least 50Mbps, while all key development institutes should be receiving at least 100Mpbs of speed by 2022. The NDCP also seeks to ensure connectivity in all areas that are currently uncovered through channelising the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

3. ‘Fibre First Initiative’ There are two parts to this. The first aspect involves the implementation collaborative models to improve infrastructure sharing between public, local and private entities to increase access to fibre optic cables in municipalities, rural areas and national highways. The second fold involves leveraging the existing infrastructure to boost connectivity, affordability and sustainability.

4. National Digital Grid A central authority, called the National Fibre Authority, will be put in place to handle utility between new initiatives being launched under the NDCP. The authority would coordinate access, standardisation of costs and timelines with respect to the National Digital Grid between the centre, states and local bodies. More importantly, such a mechanism will hopefully help remove barriers to obtaining approvals.

5. Create 4 million additional jobs in the Digital arena by 2022 Although the NDCP has stated the creation of additional jobs as a primary strategic goal that needs to be achieved by 2022, no specific measures or plan outline has been presented in the draft. That being said, they do vaguely point towards ‘capacity building’ as a subset of propelling India forward.

6. Attract $100 billion foreign investment for the telecom sector by 2022 Speaking of pushing India ahead, foreign investment has been highlighted as a major aspect of the policy. The NDCP aims to catalyse investment for the digital sector through various avenues like ensuring a holistic and harmonised approach for harnessing emerging tech, as well as providing an impetus to research and development, start-ups and local manufacturing.

7. Re-train and re-skill 1 million people with ‘new-age skills’ The people who are already a part of the workforce will be further empowered with the strengthening of PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings). The existing training infrastructure that’s already available with the telecom PSUs can be used for further skill development.

8. Expand the Internet of Things (IoT) network to encompass 5 billion connected devices The NDCP envisions to achieve this by simplifying the licensing and regulatory frameworks to ensure that appropriate security frameworks are put in place for using IoT, which is one of the leading concerns as of now. Another venture to promote IoT includes earmarking unlicensed spectrum space for IoT services, which will future-proof the use of IoT devices looking ahead.

9. Review of licence fees and spectrum usage charges The DoT recognized that the spectrum is a ‘key natural resource for public benefit’. The policy draft states that it will look into the optimal pricing of the spectrum so that the process is sustainable while also providing affordable access. There’s also a clause that states that spectrum allocation requires the development of a fair, flexible, simple and transparent method system.

10. The encouragement of Next Generation Access Technologies The policy outlines a basic plan to boost the participation of licensed service providers in using next generation access technologies in order to move towards cost optimisation, service agility and new revenue streams.

11. Creating Broadband Readiness Index for States/UTs A standard measurement mechanism will help attract investments and address challenges from the rest of the world. This initiative will be supported through fiscal stimuli like depreciation and tax incentives.

12. Secure India The aim of the policy is to establish a strong, flexible and robust data protection regime so that each citizen and enterprise can operate with autonomy and be given the freedom of choice. More importantly, the NDCP wants to put forth a Telecom Testing and Security Certification (TTSC) to enforce security standards that are at par will global standards with consideration for local requirements.

NTP-2012 outlined a similar vision of “Broadband for all” to bridge digital divide.

However, implementation fell woefully short of achieving the desired objectives within the desired timelines, specifically around rural teledensity and broadband subscriptions among other objectives.

While Rural teledensity increased from 39% in 2011 to 56% by end of 2017, it fell way short of the promised 70% mark. The current growth rate of about 3-3.5% annually indicates that we are at least 3-5 years away from achieving this objective. In my opinion, we could still accelerate the growth rate through judicious use of the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), which has a current unutilized balance of INR 48,372 crores.

Similarly, tracking the broadband subscriptions based on the new definition of >2Mbps speeds would have provided a more realistic picture of the broadband penetration in India. Moving from today’s penetration levels to the vision of “Broadband for All” by 2022 is a big challenge and can be achieved only if the real numbers are tracked and gaps are objectively assessed.

So what is new in store for you in DNDCP-2018?

There are newer areas specific to the DNDCP-2018 – including 5G cellular technology, IoT, Cloud, BigData, AI, Industry 4.0 and of course, Security. It is very encouraging and gratifying to see this focus beyond Telecom infrastructure.

Experts feel that the Policy deserves some suggestions to ensure that there is a viable implementation plan behind the vision and objectives of DNDCP-2018-

1) Judicious use of the USO Fund. The USO Funds have been initiated and set up with the key intent to bridging the digital divide between rural and urban settings. The generated corpus must be disbursed fairly to ensure that affordable, communication services are available to most citizens so that they can take advantage of such technologies for enriching their lives.

2) It is heartening to read in the policy that Spectrum will be designated as a key natural resource. The auction methodology followed in the past for 3G/4G Spectrum allocation has not been the most conducive for the Telecom operators. Today, most Telecom operators are operating at a loss – because they are not able to fully recover from the huge capital expenses of infrastructure roll-out as well as nationwide spectrum acquisition. DoT should make available the “right of way” and spectrum at very affordable price-points (In the past, China has not auctioned 3G or 4G spectrum, though they may explore auction for 5G) to provide much needed respite to the Operators. Further, any subsidies towards the roll-out of communication infrastructure can help Telecom Operators to become profitable. This will help them enhance their R&D and investments towards future expansion.

3) The thought behind common infrastructure for Smart Cities is a great idea and will help the Smart city initiatives to progress. However, the decision to create a common infrastructure must be taken and implemented with accelerated pace and not delay the Smart City initiatives any further.

4) The DNDCP-2018 has a focus on initiatives such as Industry 4.0 which will spur the “Make in India” vision. There are other initiatives (such as Bharat Udyog) with similar vision. It is important that all such Government initiatives collaborate so that they can make optimal use of the funds and share the benefits towards the common vision.

5) Lastly, it is important to do a reasonable analysis of the past gaps and study the challenges. This will help us in achieving the DNDCP-2018 objectives and not repeat the same mistakes once again.

Source ET

Read Bare Act here - Information Technology Act,2000

National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 (Downloadable PDF)

National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 by Latest Laws Team on Scribd

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