TRAI recommendations will foster development of Make-in-India products, BIF

Broadband India Forum (BIF), the leading policy forum and think- tank for digital transformation and broadband proliferation in the country, warmly welcomed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI/Authority) recently released recommendations on ‘Encouraging Innovative Services, Technologies, Use Cases and Business Models using Regulatory Sandbox in Digital Communications Sector’ as an extremely progressive step forward for the sector. The recommendations aptly uphold the objectives of the ‘Propel India’ mission of the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 as well as the Telecommunications Act (Telecom Act) 2023, and would help pave the way for a progressive way forward for the sector in terms of improved local technological prowess and help build world-class products and solutions, out of India.

TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum, commented on the development by stating: “BIF lauds the TRAI recommendations on Encouraging Innovative Services, Technologies, Use Cases and Business Models using Regulatory Sandbox in Digital Communications Sector which is progressively focused on providing enabling platforms for talented startups and developers to test their innovative products and solutions in live networks, thereby helping create a more efficient, cost-effective and technologically enhanced network infrastructure for the sector to improve service performance and delivery. This is perhaps the first such measure in decades and this move will greatly augment the startup and MSME ecosystem through the entry of credible new local players, thereby enhancing both competition and technological innovation, while also attracting investments.”

Permission for carrying out testing in live networks will allow the startup ecosystem to test the reliability of their indigenously developed new innovative products and solutions and suitably tweak them to make them more mature and readier for adoption by operators in the commercial networks.

The forward-looking recommendations by the Authority provides the startups an option to directly apply to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) when they are unable to enter into an agreement with reasonable terms with the local operators for the purpose of live testing. TRAI has empowered DoT to help out the startups in such situations, after doing due diligence that the innovations may have widespread impact on society, economy and technology. By recommending that DoT shall have the right to mandate Regulatory Sandbox testing on an operator’s network, including fixing the terms and conditions of such testing. Thus, TRAI has provided a great opportunity for Indian startups and technology developers and innovators to develop and mature their products and solutions in live testing environments within India itself.

The recommendations would also act as a catalyst for bringing new technologies into the industry, which would promote innovation and the creation of new Intellectual Property Rights and would lead to increased efficiency in delivery of services by the network operators, offering further

benefits. Besides, cutting down costs significantly, the recommendations, when implemented, would also help draw investments into the overall network services ecosystem.

CT Bureau