We sincerely hope that 5G rollout happens in FY 2022-23: Anshu Prakash

TLF 2022, the annual telecom industry event, from Voice and Data, CyberMedia, India’s leading and oldest telecom industry magazine, started today.

TLF 2022, a one-day virtual forum, features the who’s who of Indian Internet, digital, and mobile industries – CXOs, senior policy makers, industry organizations, academia, network heads, start-ups, and various stakeholders from the telecom and digital ecosystems.

The conference started with Anshu Prakash, former Chairman, DCC and former Secretary, Telecom, in conversation with Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group.

Anshu Prakash said: "The philosophy behind telecom reforms witnessed in 2021, essentially was making things simple, promoting ease of doing business, addressing certain legacy issues, ensuring industry has sufficient liquidity, and to promote investment and FDI in the industry with overall objective to equip telecom to deal with challenges of coming decades.

"Reforms were in keeping with the requirement of the times, and the time was right, the political leadership was keen, bureaucracy was also willing, and we saw the reforms.

What distinguishes the current reforms from previous efforts is the scale and the depth of the reform process.

"In current reform package, the government has addressed the issue of structural reforms, financial reforms and the ease of doing business.

"Next, spectrum usage charge has been done away with for future auctions. Since 2012, spectrum was auctioned for a 20-year period. Now, spectrum will be auctioned for 30 years, instead of 20 years. But, spectrum can be surrendered after 10 years by giving 1-year prior notice.

"Earlier, the annual spectrum payment could be secured with bank gurantee. For future auctions, bank gurantee will not be required. In FY 2022-23, we sincerely hope that 5G rollout happens."

He added that satellite broadband is coming in a big way in India. Big players are interested. But, satelite based broadband will never be competition for GSM networks.

Semiconductor policy

Prakash said: "One area where India is behind, and we are lacking is we do not have the entire value chain manufacturing in India. Telecom equipment manufacturing is required but such equipment also requires chips, semiconductors, along the entire value chain.

"Surprisingly, Indians everywhere in the world are the ones involved in doing this, but they are doing it for others. It is high time we start this manufacturing, we cover the entire value chain, from the initial product to the final product, in India itself. The incentives now being given by the govt and the new policy by MEITy, is very far reaching in its impact.

"We have now a number of Indian companies making mobile phones, and they are making good phones. But, value addition in India is very less. We need to encourage these mobile companies to add value in India, that means, the entire chain of what goes into a mobile, should get manufactured in India. This is also one of the PLI schemes which is happening, and is a step in the right direction."

"We are encouraging foreign companies to manufacture in India. Foreign companies should use India as their preferred site for manufacturing. Create employment here, value addition should be here and we would like patent should be with India/ Indians.

"The investments, which are taking place now, and the rate of growth happening in India. India as an investment destination is becoming increasingly popular. In telecom, investments that happened in the years 2002 to 2014, and 2014 to 2021, there's a huge difference. In the time period 2014 to 2021, there has been massive investments. With the new policy now of the government, of PLI schemes, FDI being permitted at 100% and there is focus on semiconductor and chip manufacturing, value addition in India. India is destined to become a global player in telecom."