The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has sought views from stakeholders in the industry on whether infrastructure-sharing should be made mandatory for operators with presence in residential and commercial complexes, airports, malls and hotels so that the in-building access and coverage can be increased. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued a consultation paper on Monday asking for feedback on ways to encourage the sharing of telecom infrastructure. It also invited views on whether sharing of in building solutions, antennae systems and optical fibre / copper cables within residential and commercial complexes, airports and hotels should be made compulsory. According to the paper, the regulator also wants to know if the market is capable of taking care of these issues by itself without any policy intervention. TRAI has invited responses for the same till July 7 and further counter comments till July 14.
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The Bureau of Indian Standards is in the process of framing the code, under which provisions can be made for common telecom infrastructure in buildings. The telecom regulator also said that it would be impractical to have individual telecom companies set up separate in-building infrastructure, which would result in “multiplication of networks”. Doing that would also lead to huge outgo “of avoidable costs.”
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TRAI believes that access restrictions are caused when a resident welfare association or a builder enters into an exclusive contract with a telecom service provider, leading to an artificial monopoly, which needs to be addressed. The regulatory body has therefore sought views on provisions that need to be included in the National Building Code of India to facilitate and promote unhindered access for all telecom operators.
