Infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges that India has to address with respect to the 5G rollout. The cash-strapped telecom sector is getting help from Prime Minister Modi’s Gati Shakti, which will help with cutting down logistic costs, increasing cargo handling capacity and reducing the turnaround time. PM Modi had previously launched the National Master plan worth Rs 100 trillion for multi-modal connectivity to boost the economy and reduce logistic costs. The Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), a leading telecom industry association, said the National Master Plan had given a major boost to the robust digital infrastructure and a lot of relevance to the telecom sector, including a unified portal for multiple things such as cross-sector collab with other utilities such as gas, electricity, water, broadcasting, and more. It is also worth noting that the Government of India (GoI) has also announced the GatiShakti Sanchar Portal, which will act as a unified portal for all telecom RoW (right of way) clearances and reduce the waiting time for the telcos to get applications approved. This will be very beneficial for the telecom industry as 5G would require a dense infrastructure setup.
Broadband to All Goal of GoI Should Come True
If the telcos and internet service providers (ISPs) continuously get help from the Indian government with respect to ease in policies and infrastructure setup, the GoI’s goal of “Broadband to All” and “Digital India” would be in the contention to come true. The telecom industry has seen a big turnaround post the launch of the central portal for RoW clearances. According to the data shared by DIPA, out of 30,925 RoW applications, 23,000 approvals have been granted online, and around 7,000 approvals were granted offline, which will soon reflect on the portal as well. T.R. Dua, Director General, DIPA, said the GatiShakti Master Plan of PM Modi’s government is a big boost to the robust telecom infrastructure in our country.
