COAI lauds the launch of DoTs ‘Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal’

The cellular operators association of India (COAI) congratulated the Department of Telecommunications today, for the launch of ‘Gati Shakti Sanchar Portal’, a central Right of Way (RoW) portal, along with their efforts for the deployment of 5G in India. The portal was officially launched by the DoT On May 14, 2022. The main goal of this portal is to provide a collaborative institutional mechanism for all stakeholders, including the Central and State/UT Governments, central land owning authorities (Railways, Defense, Porta, and others), Local bodies, and Service Providers, to facilitate Right of Way(RoW) applications and permissions for the deployment of Digital Infrastructure in the country, such as mobile towers and OFC.

The COAI applauded the efforts put forward in developing the portal, which will allow telecom service providers/IPs to submit applications and government authorities to process and grant approvals for the deployment of digital network infrastructure in a timely manner.

Applicants from multiple Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Infrastructure Providers (IPs) would be able to apply for Right of Way approvals to lay down Optical Fibre Cable and to establish mobile towers for various Government and local authorities through a single portal. It is thought to promote the simple rollout of 5G services, in which a Base Transceiver Station(BTS) is deployed at very short intervals, because it stramlines the process of RoW  permissions as well as faster approvals. The portal also includes a powerful dashboard that displays the progress of RoW applications by state and district for effective monitoring across the country.

Appreciating the efforts, Lt. Gen. Dr. SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, said:” The launch of ‘Gati Shakti - Sugam Sanchar’ Portal is a milestone which will enable the Government’s vision for ‘Digital India’. It provides a platform to process for both the Authorities and Industry to apply for ROW approvals for laying Optical Fibre Cables (OFC) and erecting mobile towers, and small cells on street furniture etc. to submit their applications to various agencies of the State/UT Governments and local bodies. It is an important step towards making a robust mechanism to achieve the goal of “Broadband to All” as envisaged in the National Digital Communication Policy-2018’’.

The portal is expected to speed up the RoW approval procedure, resulting in:

• Accelerated fiberisation by rapid installation of more optical fibre cable.
• Increased tower density, which will improve connectivity and quality of multiple telecom services.
• Increased fiberisation of telecom towers across the country, resulting in faster broadband speeds.