18-Nov-2022: TRAI releases recommendations on “Regulatory Framework for Promoting Data Economy Through Establishment of Data Centres, Content Delivery Networks, and Interconnect Exchanges in India”

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released its recommendations on ‘Regulatory Framework for Promoting Data Economy Through Establishment of Data Centres (DCs), Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), and Interconnect Exchanges (IXPs) in India’.

National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 under strategy, provision number 2.2(f). (i)envisages “Evolving enabling regulatory frameworks and incentives for promoting the establishment of International Data Centres, Content Delivery Networks, and Independent Interconnect exchanges in India”.

Accordingly, the Authority Suo-moto issued detailed Consultation Paper (CP) on the subject and after considering the comments/ inputs received from the stakeholders during consultation process and further analysis of the issues, Authority has finalized these Recommendations to boost to digital infrastructure ecosystem in the country including DCs, CDNs and IXPs. The salient features of the recommendations are as follows:

Data Centres

Facilitating & Incentivizing establishment of Data Centres (DCs) and DC Parks

• Authority has recommended to bring out Data Centre Incentivization Scheme (DCIS) for establishing Data Centres (DCs) and Data Centre Parks (Dc Parks). DCIS to have two list of incentives –
  1. Certain Centre specific fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and can be rolled out by the Central Government.
  2. The other in form of a guideline to the States; leaving flexibility to States to announce fiscal incentives through their policies.
• Operationalizing a Data Centre specific portal on National Single Window System (NSWS) for -
  1. Time-bound single window clearances with provision for deemed approval after elapse of prescribed timelines for non-critical category permissions
  2. Mandatory online registration of new DCs/DC Park operators without any obligation or registration fees. This will be purely for statistical and record purposes.
  3. Issue of notifications, announcement of schemes & benefits, facility to interact and respond to queries of potential investors, and grievance redressal of existing and prospective DC/DC Park operators.
• A national level DC Readiness Index (DCRI) framework to be implemented by Central Government to rank Indian states as per their suitability to promote DC sector. An indicative list of parameters and their weightages for ranking the States has been suggested.
• Central Government should prepare guidelines listing out the incentives for the Data Centres and DC Parks for the states that have scanty DC footprints, in line with other advanced states. The scheme should, inter-alia, offer incentives in form of land, capital subsidy and Interest subsidy. In such a scheme, while the land may be offered by respective states, the expenses on other offered incentives including capital and interest should have at least 75% contribution from central government.
• Establish DC Economic Zones (DCEZs) - Out of suggested list of 33 SEZs which are located in areas with abandon power and water, one SEZ can be identified each in State of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, UP, MP, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Odisha, for either converting them into DCEZs or for carving out zones out of these SEZs for establishing DCs/DC parks.

Developing India specific building norms, standards, and security certification framework

• BIS should be entrusted upon for developing different India-specific building standard for construction of DCs and to develop India specific standard-based certification framework for the DCs.
• For addressing security aspects of DCs, TEC and STQC should jointly work to develop DC security certification framework based on third party Audits.

Connectivity to Cable Landing Stations (CLS)

• For coastal states intending to promote setting up of new CLS, it has been recommended that they may consider incentives and facilitations of CLSs as has been undertaken by State of Gujarat in its IT/ITeS Policy 2022-27.
• For laying and maintaining OFC infrastructure to CLS, RoW charges may be waived off.

Power related

• DoT to take up with Ministry of Power to look into the submissions made by stakeholders for formulation of a DC conducive yet simplified framework for power addressing the issues that have been flagged in the recommendations, inter-alia, including:
  1. Energy banking provisions for DC/ DC park operators who opt to produce renewal energy for consumption for DC/ DC Parks should be extended to yearly basis.
  2. Providing land on priority and on concessional rates to DC/ DC park operators for establishing solar power plants.
• DC and DC Park sites should be allowed to operate as backup power infrastructure without any hindrance from state pollution control boards (SPCB) or Central pollution control board (CPCB).

Promoting Green DCs

• Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) along with Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) should be entrusted with task of framing certification standards of green DCs in India.
• Government should form a scheme to invite Requests for Proposal (RFP) on an experimental basis for new technology/methods/processes that can be adopted for promoting green DCs.

Capacity Building

• National Telecom Institute for Policy Research & Training (NTIPRIT) under Department of Telecommunication (DoT), MeitY, All India Council for technical Education (AICTE) and Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) should closely collaborate with DC industry to develop tailor-made short and long-term courses. A suggestive list of DC related courses at diploma, undergraduate and post-graduate level has also been recommended.

Addressing demand side issues of Digital Data Infrastructure –

• Data digitization, sharing and monetization – A statutory body Data Digitization and Monetization Council (DDMC) for steering the data digitization drive be prescribed at the Centre,
• Data Ownership – Government should put in place a data sharing and consent management framework on lines of DEPA framework to provide telecom subscribers consent based option to share their KYC data with recipient TSP when they port their numbers.
• Data Ethics – DDMC should also be entrusted with responsibility of putting in place an overarching framework for ethical use of data both by Government as well as by corporate in India. The framework should address the generic as well as vertical sector specific requirements.

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

• CDNs play an important role in the value chain of content delivery ecosystem. The internet traffic, which was earlier being delivered by ISPs alone, is now being delivered by ISP and CDN combined. ISPs perform load balancing, traffic engineering and offers guaranteed quality of service to end users. CDN Players also leverage various techniques like load balancing, caching, optimization, use of security protocols, etc. for ensuring better delivery of content to end users in association with TSPs. CDN players are major contributors to the network traffic and can affect the overall quality of service. Accordingly, TRAI, in its consultation process, had discussed various CDN-ISP interconnection and collaboration related policy and regulatory concerns. Issues related to challenges for establishing CDN in the country and how CDN Industry can be incentivized, were also discussed.
• To address these issues, TRAI has recommended that CDN players should be registered with DoT through a simple online registration process. The suggestive draft for guidelines for registration of CDN players along with registration form and registration certificate has been recommended with one time registration fee of Rs 10,000.
• The incentives recommended for DCs should also help in proliferation of CDNs in the country and this would in turn provide the boost to digital infrastructure ecosystem, including CDNs and IXPs.

Interconnect Exchanges Providers (IXPs)

• Currently, IXPs are required to obtain Internet Service Providers (ISPs) license which has several onerous licensing conditions related to subscriber verification, security etc. which are not relevant to them. This creates artificial entry barriers. To address this issue and promote setting up of more IXPs, especially in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, TRAI has recommended that a separate authorization in Unified License may be created for IXPs with terms and conditions that are much less onerous than ISP license authorization.

Recommended terms and conditions include the following:

• All existing players, including, NIXI should be brought within this licensing framework in a stipulated time not exceeding six months.
• Government should extend the existing list of products under PLI and PPP-PMI schemes to explicitly include classifications of equipment related to CDN and IXP.

The recommendations have been placed on TRAI's website www.trai.gov.in. For any clarification/information, Shri Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Advisor (Broadband and Policy Analysis), TRAI may be contacted at Tel. No. +91-11-23236119.

16-Nov-2022: TRAI organises Conference on ‘Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity’

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has organized a Conference on "Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity", here today. In the year 2022, when country is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, TRAI has also completed 25-years of its existence. The Conference is organized as a part its year-long silver Jubilee celebration.

The Conference was inaugurated by the Chairman TRAI, Dr. P.D. Vaghela and the session was graced by the presence of Member Technology DCC DoT, Member TRAI and senior Officers from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Department of Telecommunication, Town and Country Planning Organisation, various State Governments, Development Authorities, NAREDCO, BIS, BEE, representative from telecom and real estate Industry etc. 

The conference was organised in the spirit of the proactive role of TRAI to work in collaboration with industry and other stakeholders and ensure good Quality Telecom Services are delivered to the consumers inside the building keeping pace with the new and emerging technologies. In this regard, TRAI had issued a consultation paper on Rating of Buildings or Areas for Digital Connectivity, on 25th March 2022, wherein extensive participation from various stakeholders is witnessed. The stakeholders submitted inputs and comments on the issues raised and also shared their thoughts in Open House Session.

Chairman TRAI, Dr. P.D. Vaghela in his keynote and Inaugural address, put forth the background of the conference and underlined the importance of good digital connectivity, in present era. We all have adopted to this new norm of life of performing our day-to-day tasks through online mode and for this we require good digital connectivity in every nook and corner of the apartment. For providing digital connectivity in indoor areas, TSPs actions alone will not suffice rather close collaboration and coordination among multitude of agencies/ stakeholders from telecom side, real estate sector, permission granting authorities etc., is required for this new eco system to work effectively. Chairman TRAI, advocated for close coordination among various stakeholders for ensuring co-design and co-creation of Digital Connectivity Infrastructure along with building plan. There should be necessary provisions in Building bye-laws for co-creation of DCI and standards in the National Building Code of India. He urged all the three tiers of the Government i.e. Center, State and Local Governments, to update their bye-laws/ housing acts to make provision for robust, effective and efficient digital connectivity infrastructure for real delightful experience of end users.

Chairman TRAI also advocated to create a win-win situation to builder, telecom service providers and end users’ experience, by creating a framework for benchmarking of buildings in terms of Digital Connectivity experience rating. The rating widely published shall attract buyers and thereby enable service providers and builders to add values to their services or properties.

The deliberations at the conference were held in three sessions. The first session focused on Quest for Good Digital Connectivity and the speakers from DoT, TCPO, BEE, UL Standards and Engagements Inc. and DIPA shared their views. The second session was on Digital tools and Platforms for DCI players wherein speakers from Telecom Industry, iBwave, Ericsson and Deloitte presented their thoughts on varied topics. The third session was dedicated to Panel Discussions in which apart from TRAI officers, experts from NAREDCO, TEC, NTIPRIT, TCPO, COAI, UL Standards, ISPAI etc., participated and deliberated on the issues.

The conference was successful in getting quality inputs from the stakeholders of various organisations and TRAI shall consider these while finalising its recommendations on this topic.

3-Oct-2022: TRAI organises seminar on “Emerging Trends in Broadcasting Sector” at IMC 2022

In the year 2022, when the country is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also completed 25 years of its existence. In continuance of its silver jubilee celebrations, on the esteemed platform provided by the India Mobile Congress, TRAI today organized a seminar on “Emerging Trends in Broadcasting Sector”. This seminar had been organized in the backdrop of the recent technological developments in the sector and their impact.

The seminar was inaugurated by Chairman, TRAI, Dr PD Vaghela, in a well-attended inaugural session. The inaugural session was graced by the honourable presence of Shri T Mano Thangaraj, Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, Government of Tamil Nadu, Secretary MIB, Shri Apurva Chandra and Secretary, DoT, Shri K Rajaraman.

While delivering his welcome address, Shri V Raghunandan, Secretary, TRAI underlined that today’s seminar was in the furtherance of the attempts of TRAI to foster new deliberations and discussions in the sector in order to recognise the required changes in the regulatory framework in the light of new developments in the sector.

Shri Rajaraman, Secretary DoT, highlighted the role of broadcasting sector during the pandemic. He emphasized that with the technological developments, affordability of the broadcasting services and inclusion can be further improved upon. Further, Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary MIB, underlined opening up of new paradigms and avenues in various sectors with the technological developments in the broadcasting, for instance, immersive learning in education sector. He further raised the policy issues and challenges raised by such new developments and traced the need to update the legal and regulatory regime in the light of the same.

Ms. Meenakshi Gupta, Member, TRAI delivering her keynote address presented a snapshot of the trends in the media and entertainment sector. She highlighted the alterations in the dynamics of the sector being witnessed in the light of emergence of digital media. In his inaugural address, Chairman, TRAI, Dr. PD Vaghela put forth the background of the seminar. He underlined the need for balancing the interests of the stakeholders in the light of technological, economic and social developments. He further highlighted some of emerging technologies in the sector, such as metaverse, 5G broadcasting, multiple screens same content, automated journalism etc.  Chairman, TRAI feels that there is a scope for easing the regulatory framework further in phases.

The deliberations in the seminar were divided in two sessions. The forenoon session focused on level playing field, de-regulating linear broadcasting, enabling new age content players and light touch policy and regulatory framework.

The second session covered role of broadcasting in education, radio broadcasting and issues arising due to convergence in light of recent developments in the media and entertainment sector.

The seminar was organized in the spirit of the pro-active role of TRAI to work in collaboration with the industry and other stakeholders, and ensure that the regulatory framework fosters and not hinders new technological developments and their adoption. The seminar was successful in developing a foundational understanding of the emerging trends and foster discussions on their impact on the current regime, not only from the perspective of the regulatory regime but also from the perspective of the stakeholders as a whole.

17-May-2022: PM addresses programme marking silver jubilee celebrations of TRAI

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed a programme marking the silver jubilee celebrations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today via video conferencing. He also released a postal stamp to commemorate the occasion. Union Ministers Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shri Devusinh Chauhan and Shri L. Murugan and the leaders of telecom and broadcasting sectors were among those present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said the self-made 5G Test Bed that he dedicated to the nation today, is an important step toward self-reliance in critical and modern technology in the telecom sector. He congratulated all those associated with this project including the  IITs. “The country's own 5G standard has been made in the form of 5Gi, it is a matter of great pride for the country. It will play a big role in bringing 5G technology to the villages of the country”, he said.

The Prime Minister said that connectivity will determine the pace of progress in 21st century India. Therefore connectivity has to be modernized at every level. 5G technology, he continued,  is also going to bring positive changes in the governance of the country, ease of living and ease of doing business. This will boost growth in every sector like agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and logistics. This will also increase convenience and create many employment opportunities. For rapid roll-out of 5G, efforts of both the government and industry are needed, he added.

The Prime Minister cited the telecom sector as a great example of how self-reliance and healthy competition create a multiplier effect in society and the economy. Coming out of the despair, frustration, corruption and policy paralysis of the 2G era, the country has moved rapidly from 3G to 4G and now 5G and 6G.

The Prime Minister noted that in the last 8 years, new energy was infused into the telecom sector with the ‘Panchamrita’ of Reach, Reform, Regulate, Respond and Revolutionise. He credited TRAI for playing a very important role in this. The Prime Minister said now the country is going beyond thinking in silos and moving ahead with the ‘whole of the government approach’. Today we are expanding the fastest in the world in terms of tele density and internet users in the country, many sectors including telecom have played a role in it, he said.

The Prime Minister said to make the mobile accessible to the poorest of the poor families, emphasis was placed on the manufacturing of mobile phones in the country itself. The result was that the mobile manufacturing units increased from 2 to more than 200.

The Prime Minister noted that today India is connecting every village in the country with optical fibre. He added that before 2014, not even 100 village panchayats in India were provided with optical fibre connectivity. Today we have made broadband connectivity reach about 1.75 lakh gram panchayats. Hundreds of government services are reaching the villages because of this.

The Prime Minister said that the ‘whole of government approach’ is important for the regulators like TRAI also for meeting the present and future challenges. “Today regulation is not limited to the boundaries of just one sector. Technology is inter-connecting different sectors. That's why today everyone is experiencing the need for collaborative regulation. For this it is necessary that all the regulators come together, develop common platforms and find solutions for better coordination”, the Prime Minister said.

7-Aug-2018: TRAI integrates its Mobile App DND 2.0 & MyCall with UMANG Platform

Policy initiatives of TRAI, over the years, have been to protect the interests of the consumers. Recognizing the importance of reaching out to the consumers and to safeguard their interests, TRAI has now integrated its Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 & MyCall with UMANG Platform.

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is developed by National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). UMANG provides a single platform for all Indian Citizens to access pan India e-Gov services ranging from Central to Local Government bodies and other citizen centric services. It provides a unified approach where citizens can install one application to avail multiple government services. From now onwards, TRAI’s Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 &MyCall shall also be available on Umang Platform.

Presently, Umang has more than 50 lakhs downloads and TRAI apps individually have more than 4 lakhs downloads. With a view to increase reachability and facilitate citizens, NeGD and TRAI have integrated DND 2.0 and My Call App on UMANG Android platform (App). Consumers having Android phones can either download the TRAI apps individually from Google Playstore or can Access it directly from the Umang application.

Chairperson, TRAI launched integration and availability of following TRAI apps in a function held at TRAI, New Delhi today. Certain key features of these applications are:

(a) TRAI MyCall App: TRAI MyCall is an intuitive and user friendly application for Crowdsourced Voice Call Quality Monitoring. The Application helps Mobile phone users to rate their experience about voice call quality in real time and help TRAI gather consumer experience data along with Network data.

A pop up requests the user to rate the call after it ends. Callers simply select their rating in the form of stars and indicate if the calls were made in indoor, outdoor or while travelling. Callerscan also provide additional details such as noise or audio delay or mark a call-drop.

(b) DND 2.0 App: DND (Do Not Disturb) Services App enables smart phone users to register their mobile number under DND and report spam messages or calls to avoid Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC)/Telemarketing Calls/SMS.

3-Jan-2018: TRAI issues new interconnectivity rules

The telecom regulator has directed phone companies to ink interconnect pacts on a nondiscriminatory basis within 30 days of receiving a request from any licensed carrier, and fixed a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh a day per circle for those violating the new rules around network connectivity.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Telecommunication Interconnection Regulations, 2018, that are effective from February 1. It lays down the ground rules for Telecom companies to enter into initial interconnect pacts, provision points of interconnection (POIs) needed to complete calls, undertake augmentation of such points and the associated charges.

Under the new rules, a telco receiving an interconnection request has to offer a draft interconnect pact within five days to the requestor, who, in turn, can submit suggestions/objections in the next five days. Currently, there is no explicit timeline for inking of interconnect agreements.

Telcos flouting TRAI’s interconnection regulations would “be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive”, capped at Rs 1 lakh per day per licensed service area. A telco seeking POIs will be liable to furnish a six-month bank guarantee from the date of initial interconnection for the total number of ports sought, if such a demand is made by the telco offering interconnection.

The regulator, however, said interconnection levies such as set-up charges and infrastructure charges “may be mutually negotiated” between service providers as long as they are “reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory”. But TRAI has mandated a detailed process for disconnection of POIs, directing a telco to initially issue a show cause notice of 15 working days citing reasons for the same.