The GSM operators association - COAI has been very vocal about its demands for improving the financial health of its members facing the wrath of Reliance Jio's cheap and free data and voice services. The industry is saddled with a debt of Rs 5 lakh crore due to heavy spectrum acquisition cost through auctions and adding to it are the abysmally low tariffs, which have only worsened the situation for the incumbents.  The association has been stressing on lower levies on the sector through low spectrum, licence fee and USO charges and also lowering the prices of spectrum for broader use, besides its efficient utilisation. As the government seeks comments from the industry and experts on the draft New Telecom Policy 2018, COAI director general Rajan Mathews tells Anjana Das how the draft is comprehensive, focused, lucid, by setting clear strategic goals and is clearly what is required to propel India’s growth as a key player in the global knowledge revolution
How do you read the policy taking into account all relevant issues and an attempt to address them? 

The policy can get close to 5 out of 5 in addressing the key issues and the overall sector - a very well put together and a focussed document. The new policy will pave the way for development of telecom and digital services in the country. It will also help create 40 lakh new jobs, which in turn will improve skill sets among the people employed in the telecom sector.

The policy has addressed the long pending concerns of the telecom industry by proposing to review and rationalize various taxes and levies including license fees, spectrum usage charges, the universal service obligation fund, GST etc.

The proposed investment of $100 billion in the communication industry will help increase the contribution of telecom sector in the overall GDP from 6 to 8 per cent.

Do you feel all the issues that COAI has been raising over the last few years have been addressed?

We were given ample opportunity to offer our views on NTP -18. We also gave it to Trai and the regulator has also included our suggestions in their input. Overall, the critical issues like financial health of the industry, global telecom services tax structure vis-a-vis ours, milking of the telecom sector for revenue purpose, highlighting issues of spectrum, right of way for tower installations, data privacy, creating employment and in fact all the significant areas are all in the document.

The policy has taken an attempt to rationalise the taxes. Do you think this will be part of the NTP 18 when the actual policy comes out?

When the IMG was set up for addressing the financial health of the sector, government had said the longer term policies would be addressed by the draft policy. Now the draft has highlighted the need to address the issues. That’s appropriate.

What is your feedback on the draft?

The draft incorporates all the necessary items of urgency and we support it.

The draft talks about pushing the broadband into the deeper part of the country. Do you think the methods chosen for achieving the targets are suitable enough?

They have talked about fiberisation, right of way to be able to put towers, BharatNet being rolled out and all other critical issues. The measure of success of this policy will be on how much investment money could be raised by the operators to be able to invest. Because the government is not going to invest much of required investment and major part of it will have to come from the private sector. Clearly, the first order of business is to ensure that the financial health is restored so that these telcos can raise this money.

There is also a talk of making available new spectrum bands both access as well as backhaul, as 5G will depend on both. They have also discussed the contiguous and harmonised spectrum required for the next generation technologies. Do you feel these are well on time as India is to set on the path of new technological order?

Some of these things have to wait for international harmonization, which takes time. We cant decide on our own that we will use these spectrum bands for our 4G, 5G services. The International Telecom Union or ITU and other working groups have been working for many years to align all the countries to make sure that certain amount for spectrum is reserved for 5G, IMT and others. And now that the work of harmonisation is going on at the global ITU level, it is fair to include it in NTP. Other countries are also doing the same. 

In the NTP-18, the government has tried to bring ‘light touch’ or delicensing approach in a bid to do away with heavy governance in the sector, at least in the scope of broadband proliferation. A welcome move, you could say.

We have always said if you are going for light touch approach, make sure that it is done with an equal hand. People who are providing similar services should be treated similarly. Don’t tilt the level playing field by giving benefits to some entities that is not given to othes who are already paying high fees to the government.

Are you referring here to OTT (WhatsApp, Skype, Google or Hangouts) v/s access providers?

Yeah, if we are to work with them and you want to make sure that both are necessary for a balanced eco system, then please treat us both equally and fairly.

The draft has stated an underutilised and substituable spectrum, auctioning and assignment along with unutilised spectrum for efficient use. While further liberalising the spectrum in trading and releasing, how does this unutlied spectrum ease the situation?

If an operator, for example, holds 2.5 Mhz of 900Mhz band spectrum, which helps only in 2G and with 2G being phased out, to move on to 5G, one has to get at least 5 Mhz of contiguous spectrum. The operator now has to look at some other telcos who has also got 2.5 Mhz idle spectrum. There is also plenty of spectrum lying unutlised with the space department and information and broadcasting ministry, which could be well used for commercial purpose. We should be pooling the idle spectrum out and use it for telecom industry.

Is the direction of the policy progressive on this?

Absolutely. Spectrum, globally, is both a scarce and variable resource. Allowing it to sit idle is such a waste of this valuable product. It is absolutely right focus.
The draft is focussing on optimal pricing of spectrum for suatainable and affordable access to digital communication. What is the implication of this on future spectrum pricing?

The reference is this that when we are looking at a new technology like 5G, for example, which is expected to come on line, a single operator needs 100Mhz of spectrum and if the government tries to use the existing pricing methodology, nobody will be able to afford that. When the government tried the price of 700Mhz spectrum, which only 25 Mhz per operator, nobody could buy it. So for 5G if you follow old methodology, then the country will suffer and people will not benefit.

anjana.das@mydigitalfc.com