M2M services being operationalised a landmark for India’s digital journey: BIF

Broadband India Forum, the leading independent Think-Tank and Policy Forum for Digital Communications in the country, warmly lauds the Department of Telecom for commencing the process of on-boarding the M2M Service Providers through a simple online process of registration through the DoT’s existing Saral Sanchar portal. This step marks a new chapter in India’s journey towards digitalization and leveraging new technologies for betterment of citizen-centric services and amenities, and advancement of the nation’s overall digital prowess.

The expedited manner in which this follows the recent issuance of the Guidelines for ‘Registration process of M2M Service Providers (M2MSP) & WPAN/WLAN Connectivity Providers for M2M Services’, affirms the DoT’s acknowledgment of M2M services as an increasingly important emerging technology, which would offer beneficial opportunities to a vast number of stakeholders. With the rapid acceptability of all sectors to digitalize and automate processes, and the advent of new manufacturing techniques and Industry 4.0, we can expect a quantum jump in the use of IoT and M2M services all across the country, which would generate massive employment opportunities in far-flung areas across the country.

Hence, these liberal guidelines and the simple online registration method using the Saral Sanchar portal is a giant step forward to help liberalise the nascent M2M sector and give it a tremendous boost. Similar to the registration process used for the stakeholders of the historic PM-WANI initiative, the provisioning of easy application process, Single Window clearance system, ‘light touch’ registration at a nominal cost of Rs. 5000 within 15 days, among others, will aid in ease of doing business (EoDB). It would present a host of opportunities to entrepreneurs and startups to participate and develop innovative applications and solutions for the benefit of the citizens.

BIF President, TV Ramachandran, commented on the development, “We are delighted to note such an expeditious movement on the registration process of M2M Service Providers, after the introduction of the historic guidelines by the DoT on the same. The simplicity of the process involved would facilitate enthused participation from big and small players alike in the ecosystem, driving innovative and effective utility solutions for the benefit of the citizens. This exemplifies the focus and thrust of the Government towards encouraging and promoting the use of efficient technologies like M2M towards digital transformation, technological progress and accelerating the country’s march towards evolving into a Digital Economy.”

Further, the registration shall help in addressing concerns like connectivity with TSPs, KYC, traceability and encryption for the service providers. This will lead to a plethora of citizen centric services across different verticals like Power, Automotive, Safety & Surveillance, Remote Health Management, Agriculture, Smart Cities & Homes, Industry 4.0, etc. The resultant explosion in IoT based services would further cultivate the digital ecosystem in the country.

CT Bureau