COAI support for telecom R&D

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Thursday said that it has supported the appeal by Professors from IITs, IIM, and IISc to the government for urgently set up and operationalise Telecom Research and Development Fund (TRDF) and Telecom Entrepreneurship Development Fund (TEDF) to encourage research and entrepreneurship in the Indian Telecom industry.

In a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), 35 leading faculty members from premier academic institutions in the country such as Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) have urged the DoT to take immediate steps to operationalize TRDF and TEDF to help catalyse the manufacturing eco-system and make India a global leader in telecom technology for commercial and national strategic use.

"It is imperative for the country to develop a competent research and entrepreneurship ecosystem in order to nurture and grow the industry in a competitive global environment. As the 2nd

largest market in telecommunications, India also needs to ensure that the technological advancements in the country are at par with the leading markets across the world. It is essential that proper proactive support be provided from the Government as well as industry for a joint effort towards facilitating this much required ecosystem. COAI is committed to support any such Govt initiatives in building the ecosystem as is done in the past for establishing TCOEs, TSDSI and TSSC. " said Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI.

"Today India has grown into the 2nd largest telecom market in the world, with a teledensity of 75% and total revenue in excess of Rs 170,000 crore per year. However, India's contributions towards telecom technology development such as intellectual property rights (IPR), innovations, patents and standards is

practically nil," a statement said.

"Academia has appealed for a strong entrepreneurial eco-system that includes proactive government funding for R&D, IPR, contribution to global standards and product development. Start-ups are also needed in large numbers to take up innovative products in areas such as energy efficiency, green telecom etc. which could make a huge difference to India. It is pertinent to note that thrust on R&D and IPR creation has been amply given in National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012," it said.

However, these critical support systems for developing the industry's as well as country's requirements have not yet been provided. The Indian government has garnered huge funding through spectrum auctions, telecom revenue-share and licensing charges and is likely to earn even more in the future. It is imperative that a part of these earnings are partly is used to strengthen the ecosystem and hence the government must create and operationalise TRDF and TEDF without further delay.