DIPA and COAI welcome the bye-laws by Karnataka state

Industry bodies Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said the statutes announced by Karnataka are likely to facilitate broadband deployment in the state as part of the Right-of-Way (RoW) initiative.

“The statutes are a welcome step and are likely to give a much-needed boost to the broadband proliferation in the state and will create jobs, lead to increased GDP and enabling more services – such as online education, e-commerce, e-health, etc. and improve the state’s economy. welfare, “said Tilak Raj Dua, CEO, DIPA.

State under the leadership of Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday announced the new rules.

DIPA’s Dua said Telecommunications Secretary K Rajaraman’s proactive approach and state management support worked to create such a positive development.

The bylaws apply to state-wide urban areas, municipal councils, urban panchayats (blocks) and areas under the jurisdiction of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palikes (BBMP) and include telecommunication towers and fiber optic cables (OFC), including small cells.

“This RoW policy will help meet the national broadband mission, increase broadband deployment, provide Internet and broadband services to citizens, improve connectivity and capacity. Therefore, it will improve the quality of mobile services and develop a robust telecommunications / digital infrastructure in the state, “COAI said in a statement.

In July 2019, the Telecommunications Department (DoT) had asked Karnataka to align the state’s telecommunications infrastructure policy with the Center’s RoW 2016 rules.

Karnataka Tower Policy 2019, which was not in line with the Centre’s framework, received criticism from industry groups, has now been revised with delivery of a permit within 60 days, otherwise considered approval and the State Government would establish an online portal within 6 months of notification on articles of association.

The revised state policy also includes a one-time fee to cover administrative expenses, while a formal approval or permit will not be required for the installation of Cell on Wheels (CoW) if placed for a maximum of up to 90 days.

“We thank the state government of Karnataka for notifying the RoW policy on urban municipalities. In addition, we urge the state government to speed up the implementation of the same at all levels. This will help with the installation of mobile towers and the roll-out of OFC across the state, “said SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, adding that the move would facilitate the rapid roll – out of telecommunications infrastructure while boosting the direct and indirect jobs associated with the roll – out of telecommunications infrastructure across the state.

Dua further said that a robust telecommunications infrastructure played a key role, especially in the last 2 years with the cyclone of the cyclones, floods and COVID-19 pandemic, adding that in these circumstances the demand for telecommunications and internet / broadband services has increased in diversity. due to work from home, online education, video conferencing.

“It is the robust telecommunications infrastructure that keeps our economic engines running and provides a further boost to the self-help India (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) movement, announced by the Prime Minister of India, with infrastructure as one of five pillars of the movement,” he added.

Karnataka has nearly 70 million subscribers and has a network of close to 44,000 telecommunication towers and about 1.5 lakh kilometers of cumulative optical fiber cable. Mac Pro Tricks