Telcos Need To Install Atleast 10K 5G Towers Per Week: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Telecommunication companies (telcos) need to raise the number of 5G towers being installed every week to at least 10,000 per week, up from the current 2,500 per week, Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Vaishnaw said as many as 8,000 towers have been set up so far and the government is ready to help telcos scale up 5G infrastructure with whatever policy support they need, but the speed of 5G roll-out is to be maintained.

“I have a small request for telcos. Now we are installing around 2,500 base transceiver stations (BTS) or towers per week. That is a bit low. We need to be installing at least 10,000 BTS per week,” said Vaishnaw.

A BTS is a fixed radio transceiver in any mobile network, most often in the form of a tower. It is used to facilitate wireless communication between subscriber device and telecommunication (telecom) operator network.

He added that 163 handset models have also been enabled with over-the-air software updates.

Telecom Bill deadline

Vaishnaw said the deadline for submission of stakeholder comments on the draft telecom Bill may be extended to November 10, from October 30.

“My request to all industry stakeholders and bodies is to submit their responses by November 10, so that we can take up the draft Bill to Parliament,” said Vaishnaw.

The minister said the relevant standing committee has decided to take up any recommendations on the Bill in the draft stage itself, so that it can be taken straight to Parliament. Vaishnaw said one more draft of the Bill would be released after incorporating comments from all stakeholders.

Satellite communication reforms

The government also announced reforms on wireless licensing and satellite communications, apart from the updated national frequency allocation plan and quantum key distribution standards of TEC.

Key among these were five reforms related to satellite communication. The government has allowed mobile very-small-aperture terminals (VSATs), which can be affixed to vehicles with a licence. It has also eased the provisions regarding the certification of antennae.

“We are now releasing self-certification of antennae, after which it can be self-deployed,” said Vaishnaw.

He also announced the government has removed network operation and control centre charges for the use of space segments for all services like VSAT, satellite telephony, etc for which permits are issued by the department.

DoT earlier levied Rs 21 lakh per transponder per annum for 36 megahertz of spectrum on a pro-rata basis as network operation and control centre (NOCC) charges.

The government has also made the process single stage. As a result, the time taken will be reduced from eight months to six weeks.

Besides this, the department also levied NOCC charges of Rs 6,000 for every trial of the antenna used for receiving and transmitting signals.

In the domain of near-field communication, the manufacturing of items like car keys is coming fast to India.

“We are delicensing three bands for the purpose of Internet of Things and machine communication and contactless inductive charging,” he said.

He also felicitated officials responsible for India winning a segment of the recent elections at the International Telecom Union (ITU), and specifically ITU’s Radio Regulations Board (RRB).

Revathi Mannepalli, India’s candidate for member, RRB, won the elections with the support of 139 countries of the 180 that voted in these elections. She got the highest number of votes in East Asia and West Asia.