2022 shall place India back on the global telecom map

India is certainly taking its time to launch 5G services. This, however, seems set to change. The 5G spectrum auctions are scheduled for February 2022. The telcos are working on creating the ecosystem, and have deployed edge computing for business. 5G-readiness being a capital-intensive business, the players were quick to initiate discussions with partners, set up labs and innovation centers, and prove the functionality of the use-cases.

The evolution from the traditional network to 5G and cloud-native networks is accelerating the transformation of not just technology and ecosystems, but also innovation, competition, and entire markets. These trends will redefine the future of the telecom sector in India. 5G presents a huge enterprise business opportunity. The addressable industry-digitization market for service providers could grow to ₹50 trillion by 2030.

FY22 brings hope and optimism for the service providers. It seems the worst is over. The authorities have taken the plunge. The reform package and the measures announced recently with regard to the future spectrum assignments, while ensuring survival of the telcos, will promote robust competition.

DoT has prolonged the moratorium on spectrum and AGR liabilities for another four years, allowing the interest accrued during the moratorium period to be converted into equity. The rationalized AGR definition excludes all non-telecom revenue pros­pectively, extends the spectrum license period for new licenses to 30 years from 20 years, and provides an auction calendar, which will aid invest­ments in new 5G spectrum. It allows for the repatriation of spectrum following a ten-year lock-in period, allowing VIL to surrender its excess spectrum, and improving spectrum avail­ability for Bharti and RJio. Additionally, with regard to the future spectrum assignments, measures, such as removal of FBG and PBG require­ments, increasing the validity of future access spectrum assignment to 30 years, defining schedule for future spectrum auctions, providing option for surrendering spectrum after 10 years, and removal of additional SUC of 0.5 percent in case of spectrum sharing will go a long way in enhancing the ease of doing business in the sector.

Shifting gears, the Indian government seems firm on its commitment to secure the Indian telecom space. With the Chinese brands, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and OnePlus having a combined 50 percent share of the Indian market, the authorities are currently targeting the Chinese smartphone brands with notices sent, seeking details on the data and components used in the phones. This is in line with the investigation into components used by the telecom equipment manufacturers, and the ban on 220 Chinese apps in India earlier.