Telecom sector may witness Rs 60,000 crore investment in Fiscal Year 2018

NEW DELHI: The telecom sector will invest as much as `50,000-60,000 crore in the current fiscal to strengthen digital infrastructure, according to Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder chairman of Bharti Enterprises. Speaking at the India Mobile Congress here on Wednesday, Mittal said his telecom company would invest `18,000-20,000 crore in FY18.

Vodafone also made a commitment to bring in new investment through new technologies. “We offer unified communication in most parts of the world. We want to offer it also in India. This is strategic for Vodafone but it’s also strategic for India as a country,” said Vittorio Amedeo Colao, CEO of Vodafone Group.

Responding to the telecom sector’s demand for financial support from the government, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said the government is proactive. “We have sought legal opinion on certain aspects of inter-ministerial panel’s proposals related to financial stress in the Indian telecom sector.”

The minister said that driven by the adoption of smartphones and exponential increase in data consumption, the telecom industry is expected to generate revenues of $38.25 billion by 2017, registering a CAGR of 5.2 per cent during 2014 to 2017. Law and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has urged the telecom industry to invest in new technologies.

Telcos seek financial support from govt

New Delhi: The First India Mobile Congress demonstrated the fierce competition among operators with the CEOs of incumbent operators — Airtel, Idea, Vodafone and CEO of Reliance Jio — exchanging aggressive points on the dais. Himanshu Kapania, MD of Idea Cellular, launched an attack on the tariff of Jio and also questioned the telecom regulator’s decision to lower inter-connect user charges.

He also sought financial help from the government, reduction in goods and services tax, and deferment of spectrum fees and high cost of spectrum.  Gopal Vittal, CEO and MD of Bharti Airtel India and South Asia, and Sunil Sood, CEO and MD of Vodafone, stressed on the need for ease of doing business. Kapania said the regulator has created a situation that only one technology will exist in India and others will perish.

Govt allows telecom operators to set up towers in Defence land

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has allowed use of Defence land bytelecom operators for construction of Shared Communication Towers and allied Infrastructure. The parameters will be based on experience in implementing the policy and guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for issue of clearance for installation of mobile towers. The revised policy will cover allotment of Defence land on lease and grant of permission in Defence areas and Cantonments to Access Service Licencees and Companies registered with DoT as IP-I for setting up shared communication towers and allied infrastructure.

Data is the new oil, says Mukesh Ambani

New Delhi: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has pointed out that ‘Data is the new oil. India does not need to import it.’ “We have it in super-abundance. It will be a new source of value and will create opportunities and prosperity for India and millions of Indians,” he said, while speaking at the First India Mobile Congress.

He further said that data is the oxygen of a digital economy. “We cannot deprive Indians of this vital life-sustaining resource. We have to provide ubiquitous access to high-speed data at affordable prices,” said Ambani.

He also stressed that every Indian should have access to an affordable smartphone that connects to limitless knowledge and the power of the Internet.

He asked the telecom industry to realise that artificial intelligence, robotics, internet of things, cloud computing, big data analytics, 3-D printing, blockchain, nanotechnology, etc are enablers of a new wave of wealth and employment for all.

To accomplish all these tasks, the telecom and IT industry will have to partner with every sector of the economy and government, every business and every institution,  said Ambani.