Telecom Regulatory Authority of India:
TRAI is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India.
● It was set up by the Government of India by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
● Objective: to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country.
● It is responsible for fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.
Status of broadband connection in India:
● In rural areas, the percentage of telecom subscribers that have broadband connection has increased twofold in the past five years to reach about 65%.
● This huge growth in rural broadband subscription is due to many of the initiatives by the government. - Let us discuss these initiative by the government.
BharatNet:-
● It is a flagship scheme of the Government of India to provide broadband connectivity to all gram panchayats (village councils) in the country.
● The project has been approved by Union Cabinet on 25.10.2011 The project is being implemented by Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL), a special purpose vehicle set up by the Government of India.
● Objective: to enable access providers like mobile operators, Internet Service Providers, Cable TV operators, content providers to launch various services such as e-health, e-education and e-governance in rural and remote India.
● BharatNet Phase-II was launched in 2017 to integrates the implementation experience of Phase-I of the project and aligns it with the vision of Digital India.
Status (as on 18.03.2024)
● So far, 211,335 Gram Panchayats are connected through the BharatNet project and 681,864 Km of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) has been laid.
● Additionally, 924,693 Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) connections are commissioned and 104,675 Wi-Fi hotspots are installed to ensure last-mile connectivity.
Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF):-
- The Universal Service Support Policy came into effect from 01.04. 2002.
- The USOF is a fund levied on telecom service providers to promote the development of telecommunication services in rural and remote areas.
- The USOF provides financial support for the deployment of telecom infrastructure in these areas.
- The Telecommunication Act 2023 was implemented in December 2023.
- The USOF is renamed as Digital Bharat Nidhi in the Act.
- The government plans to use it to create a mega money source for research and development (R&D) into networking and telecom equipment manufacturing.
Right to Access to Internet:-
- The Supreme Court has declared right to access the internet is a fundamental right under Article 19 of Constitution.
- The High Court of Kerala in 2019 has recognized that the right to have access to the internet is a part of the right to education as well as the right to privacy under the Constitution of India.
- This means that the government has a legal obligation to provide broadband connectivity to all schools in the country.
Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM WANI):-
● It was launched by the Department of Telecom (DoT) in December 2020.
● It aims to establish a nationwide network of Public Data Offices (PDOs).
● These PDOs will provide public Wi-Fi access points to enhance connectivity throughout India.
● Key Focus: The initiative prioritizes increasing internet penetration in rural areas and promoting the proliferation of low-cost internet access.
● Framework: The PM-WANI model decentralizes Wi-Fi network deployment.
●It empowers small businesses, retailers, and local entrepreneurs to take ownership and set up public Wi-Fi hotspots, making connectivity more widely accessible.
● No Licensing Fee: A significant advantage of the PM-WANI framework is that PDOs do not require any licensing fee, making it affordable and encouraging wide participation.
Other Initiatives:-
- Mobile towers are being commissioned in the North East region with support from USOF.
- The submarine optic fibre cable connecting mainland India to Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands is providing robust broadband connectivity.
- It provides affordable internet access compared to the relatively expensive and unreliable satellite based low bandwidth connectivity these islands had earlier.