Towering Differences

After the recent
dispute between telecom operators and urban municipal authorities, Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is expected to come out with new guidelines
for telecom towers. However, how much the state governments would give weightage
to the guidelines is again a big question. Further, municipal bodies are also
all set to please telecom operators in the form of higher fees and taxes.

The central government has no say or jurisdiction over the
municipal bodies. To make the state governments follow the regulation, the
central government has to bring a new ordinance and do amendments in the
Constitution, which is least likely, unless the issue is of business interest.

Lion's Share

Municipal bodies have seen this as another opportunity to make money. The
Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) is framing new norms for the installation of
new towers, meaning a telcom operator has to pay more money in case it is
approved by the body. As per the reports, DMC has proposed a plan that includes
a usage fee of Rs 3-5 lakh against the current Rs 1 lakh. Interestingly, telecom
operators sharing a tower have to pay more if the municipal body has its way. If
one provider is using a tower, he will be charged Rs 3 lakh; if two of them
share a tower, they will collectively pay Rs 4 lakh and so on.

People associated with the telecom industry recall a
similar stand of DMC and NDMC while laying optical fiber in the national
capital. The authorities charged telecom operators Rs 10 lakh per km for
damaging city roads while laying optical fiber. Interestingly, a telecom
operator has to repair the road as well, despite paying the authorities.

Further, DMC was also planning to raise Rs 1 lakh per year
as the usage of the building will be commercial, once the mobile tower has been
installed.

Reports say that the municipal body also wants to restrict
the installation of towers over a house in residential areas; and has given
other options like--government buildings, empty plots, nallahs that are covered,
etc--for installing towers. It is worth mentioning that residential areas have
limited number of government buildings. Further, location is very critical for
the installation of the tower and it's a technical decision.

Trai Guidelines

According to Trai's guidelines, which is expected in a few months, a rooftop
tower may be installed only on reinforced concrete cement (RCC) buildings. A
company should get prestigious institutes like the IITs and the Central Building
Research Institute (CBRI) at Roorkee to design the towers on rooftops. Companies
can also follow standards formulated by the Telecom Engineering Center (TEC).

Trai policy will cover issues related to material and
design of buildings. The telecom companies will have to get the towers painted
every year in areas with a highly corrosive atmosphere. The earth resistance of
the tower would have to be maintained within the prescribed range and it would
be hecked periodically at least once a year.

The manufacturer's identity, year of manufacture, and the
maximum load that a tower can take would have to be displayed at the bottom of
the tower.

The new guidelines would not make much of a difference.
However, it will make some sense for the telecom friendly states. At the same
time, it would set a benchmark. But, how good it would be for resolving the
pending issues is still a big question.

Akhilesh Shukla

akhileshs@cybermedia.co.in