By TV Ramachandran
Years in the past, a German thinker mentioned that fixed prevarication just isn’t merely geared toward making targets consider the untruth however, much more dangerously, the aim is to making sure nobody believes something anymore. The targets grow to be like putty or clay within the palms of the untruth propagandists who can do no matter they need with them. Most scary certainly. Seeing the flood of public statements from a piece of Indian telecom, one is satisfied that some vested pursuits listed below are practitioners par excellence on this strategy. From persistent calls to public sale spectrum for even the general public required use instances to the suppression of Wi-Fi innovation, such vested pursuits are innovatively peddling deceptive claims to attain their industrial agendas.
Take the curious case of the 6 GHz spectrum band, which the foremost telcos are clamouring to be auctioned, touting its supposed worth for 5G, 5.5G, and even 6G providers. This declare glosses over the aim of delicensed 6 GHz band: to gas innovation, broaden entry, and allow broadband for all. Over 80 international locations have delicensed this spectrum and our telcos’ short-sightedness in pushing for public sale of this essential public useful resource overlooks the socio-economic advantages of delicensing the whole 6 GHz spectrum, particularly for the proliferation of broadband via inexpensive and trendy Wi-Fi. Unrestricted entry to the delicensed 6 GHz band may convey many advantages, from powering digital school rooms to supporting small companies. Importantly, utilizing 6 GHz for IMT implies overwhelming reliance on non-trusted supply/nation.
One other public useful resource which retains getting caught within the cross hairs of public sale advocacy is the satellite tv for pc spectrum, regardless of clear provisions for administrative allocation within the Telecom Act. Such allocation is critical to allow development of the nascent satcom market, and provision of broadband to the unserved and distant areas. Telcos and satcom are chalk and cheese by way of applied sciences, networks, and income potential. The telco Goliath of the Rs 3 lakh crore is searching for to swallow the Rs 500 crore David of satcom!
Much more intriguing is the case of the globally distinctive, prestigiously branded, and indigenously developed Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Entry Community Interface (PM-WANI) scheme that would change India’s connectivity panorama by providing safe, easy-to-use, inexpensive public Wi-Fi hotspots. But, telcos have dismissed PM-WANI by terming it “irrelevant” to India’s imaginative and prescient of Broadband for All. Public Wi-Fi is complementary to cellular broadband, however the latter, driving on the facility of monopoly and deep pockets, conveniently ignores the technical limitations on capability, reliability, and consistency of cellular networks. Regardless of robust assist from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the federal government, PM-WANI has been stalled because of a robust foyer that may quite see it disappear than problem their dominance.
Among the many most brazen cash-grabbing makes an attempt of telcos is their doubtful demand of “fair proportion” in revenues of the so-called giant site visitors turbines (LTGs), the over-the-top (OTT) platforms. They allege that LTGs burden their networks, necessitating extra infrastructure whereas fully disregarding that OTT platforms have enabled them to effectively utlilise their underutilised capacities. This demand for compensation defies logic — in spite of everything, this site visitors is generated from the requests of their very own clients who pay consideration for respective information utilization based on the prescribed tariffs.
Non-public 5G, the brand new frontier in enterprise expertise, has additionally fallen prey to misinformation. Telecom firms declare they alone are suited to supply personal 5G networks, dismissing direct spectrum allocation to enterprises as a supposed “income loss” to the exchequer, and elevating issues over potential misuse. In actuality, telcos do not need unique licences and direct spectrum allocation to enterprises to arrange personal networks at nominal charges would comply with world norms, creating an avenue for atmanirbharta (self-reliance) throughout essential sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation.
Equally regarding is the deceptive portrayal of 5G mounted wi-fi entry (FWA) as a “new paradigm” for mounted broadband, with some even heralding it as an alternative choice to true mounted (fiber) broadband. FWA is barely a cellular service that works on the precept of greatest efforts information service and never on assured information service supplied with fiber-based mounted broadband. Although a helpful interim resolution, it’s nothing however a contemporary avatar of WLL-M (wi-fi in native loop-mobile) and is not any match for the sustainability, pace, and reliability of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP). This “different reality” results in a bumpy development path for essential fiber enlargement efforts that promise long-term steady and scalable connectivity.
Of their relentless pursuit of revenue, sure sections of the telecom sector need to seize each side of digital connectivity albeit at the price of public good. Customers of Indian telecom, watch out for a tsunami of “different information” engulfing you however don’t lose hope. Keep tuned to evidence-based propositions and options. Competitors and shopper selection will demolish the distortions created to delay India’s digital leap.
The writer is President, Broadband India Discussion board
With analysis inputs by Debashish Bhattacharya and Shubhika Saluja, respectively senior deputy director-general and analysis affiliate, BIF
Views are private
