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Tower Cos Brought Under Regulatory Net

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Tower Cos Brought Under Regulatory Net
Tower providers will be considered licensees under right-of-way rules
The telecom department has clarified that tower providers will be considered as licensees under rightof-way rules, addressing a major demand of the industry that had been kept out of the purview of these rules so far. The industry welcomed the move, which it said would help infrastructure providers to set up the base for future technologies including 5G.
The right-of-way rules allow online filing of applications in a bid to ease the pain that the sector faces in building infrastructure. They are expected to help companies get land from state governments and local bodies within a stipulated timeframe, with standard procedures set for telecom companies and government authorities to follow.
The Department of Telecommunications had issued rules on setting up of telecom towers and laying of cables in November 2016, providing a framework for granting approvals and settling disputes in a timebound manner, as well as improving coordination between companies and government authorities. However, it kept tower and infrastructure providers outside the purview of the regulation even though they are the ones that set up the required infrastructure for telcos.
“It is clarified that under clause 2 (d) of the said rules, ‘licensee’ includes infrastructure provider category I (IP-I) authorised to establish and maintain dark fibre, right of way, duct space and towers and give them out on lease, rent or sale basis to telecom service providers on mutually agreed terms and basis,” DoT said in a notice on Wednesday.
“It is reiterated that IP-I registrants shall in no case work and operate or provide telegraph service, including end-to-end bandwidth as defined in the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, either to any service provider or any other customer,” DoT added.The Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association, which represents companies such as Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers, ATC India, GTL Infra, Reliance Infratel and Tower Vision, lauded the government’s decision. It said the move reinforced and recognised that infrastructure providers were an essential part of the overall telecom ecosystem.
The Economic Times, New Delhi, 24th May 2018

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