Prices will be reasonable, BSNL will balance the market, regulatory framework will be changed: Ashwini Vaishnav
Prices will be reasonable, BSNL will balance the market, regulatory framework will be changed: Ashwini Vaishnav
Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Saturday said 5G telecom services will be made available in India from October 2022 and the industry will decide on the pricing structure.
“As soon as spectrum auction ends, within a few days we will allot the auctions. We expect the rollout to start in October, and within a year or so, we should have a good rollout of 5G in the country,” he said at a press conference after addressing an investor conference.
Noting that 5G rollout has been slow around the world, he said, “We believe that we will probably buck the trend of much faster rollout of 5G compared to many other geographies as our other costs are largely under control. “
Read | 5G spectrum band auction
He said in case of higher pricing for 5G services, the government would intervene and state-owned BSNL, which would roll out 5G “very fast”, would act as a market balancer.
“As far as the cost of 5G services is concerned, the world average cost of telecom services is ₹2,400.” [per month] While in India it is around ₹200 per month, India has the lowest data cost in the world,” he said without giving any specific numbers.
He said till Saturday, the government had received ₹1.49 lakh crore from 5G spectrum auction and expressed confidence that it would cross ₹1.5 lakh crore.
“Close to ₹ 1.49 lakh crore has been committed by the industry to buy spectrum. This shows how this sector is maturing very well.”
“The 5G spectrum auctions are doing well, indicating that the industry is growing, the results are very good,” he said.
Shri Vaishnav said, “The industry has entered the sunrise phase from the old phase, where there can be a new inflow of capital investment.”
Read | What are the challenges of fiberization ahead of India’s 5G deployment?
Responding to a question that the telecom market is heading towards a monopoly in view of the precarious financial health of Vodafone India Limited (VIL), in which the government recently acquired around 33% stake, he said that would not happen.
“Duplex will not happen. september correction [in the telecom sector] There has been good stability in the industry. We are looking for new players to enter this segment. There is going to be good healthy competition in this area. BSNL will emerge as a good market balancer.
Responding to a question on the government’s strategy for VIL, Mr Vaishnav said, “We do not want to be on the board of any company. The equity that comes with the government will be kept in an entity that has no day-to-day relationship with the company’s management. The company will remain a professionally managed company.”
“We are confident that there will be fresh investment in Vodafone Idea. The fact that they are participating in the 5G auction shows that the company should be able to move ahead on the growth path. We are confident that this will be a growth phase for the entire industry.”
Shri Vaishnav said that since the volumes in the telecom industry are very high, it has been able to maintain high levels of credit. He said most of the issues like adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and liabilities on balance sheet arising out of spectrum issues were addressed by the 2021 reforms.
“If anything else needs to be done to make the industry healthy, we will do it so that we can reach even the remotest villages,” he said.
He said that the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for the telecom sector has received a very good response. “About 31 companies had got permission under PLI, incremental production of about Rs 1 lakh crore is going on under the scheme,” Mr. Vaishnav said.
“In the next two-three years, we expect to achieve similar success in telecom equipment manufacturing as our success in electronics manufacturing. We are hopeful that many of these companies will become exporters and make a mark in the world.
The Minister said that a new legal framework is being prepared for the telecom sector in the direction of ease of doing business. “A legal framework should be in line with the times. This kind of industry requires a very stable and forward-looking, futuristic and born-digital type of legislation. That will trigger the next round of growth,” he said, adding that the three archaic laws currently governing the industry will be gone.
“We are changing the entire legal framework. We are still governed by the 1885 law, the 1933 law and the 1950 law. PM has abolished about 1,500 laws. We are going to clean up the telecom legal framework so that there is no disruption in the industry,” he said, adding that a new legal framework will come into effect from August 2023.
“We must ensure that our public policy ensures the continuity of services, even when firms may face bankruptcy; If a firm comes forward and admits the mistake and imposes penalty, there should be compounding and decriminalization,” Mr Vaishnav said.
He said the prime minister’s clear mandate was that “India’s telecom sector has to be reformed and benchmarked globally. And now the entire regulatory setup has to become the benchmark for the world.”