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Informist, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

 

By Shakshi Jain and Sagar Sen

 

NEW DELHI – Despite structural policy interventions by the government, Right of Way remains one of the biggest operational bottlenecks on the ground for expansion of telecommunication infrastructure in India, according to T.V. Ramachandran, president of think tank Broadband India Forum. "Because we are a federal state, every state has got its own jurisdiction...You not only have states, you also have other authorities...Who have their own powers by legislation. So it's a painful process to get everybody on board," he said in a virtual interaction with Informist Tuesday.

 

Ramachandran pointed out that several states are yet to formally align local processes to the Telecommunications (Right of Way) Rules, 2024. "In Karnataka for instance, RoW (Right of Way application) rejection is around 30% and timelines are well beyond the formal timelines under the central RoW rules," he cited. 

 

Right of Way is the legal right granted to telecom service operators and infrastructure providers to install, operate, and maintain physical network assets such as underground optical fibre cables, mobile towers, poles — on public or private property. The 2024 rules dictate public entities cannot levy extra fee, rent, property tax, or take coercive action against authorised telecom networks. Further, they must process Right of Way applications within a strict timeline.

 

Ramachandran urged that if India wants to be an advanced digital economy, all electronic communication technologies must comprise a proportionate size in the overall pie. According to him, fixed broadband should ideally have a 35-40% share as opposed to less than 5% currently. 

 

Those skeptical about a commercial rollout of satellite communication services in India argue that they are unnecessary and pose security risks. However, Ramachandran termed the view "mistaken" and "short sighted." He believes the technology complements terrestrial services and more importantly, it could help bridge the digital divide in India. "Satcom will play out not as a replacement for 4G or 5G, but as a critical infrastructure layer focused on two distinct horizons: enterprise/strategic resilience and targeted rural expansion," Ramachandran said, adding that the most telling indicator of how this offering will unfold is the recent change in strategy by India's telecom giants, who have tied up with global players and also maintain their own play.

 

Ramachandran pointed out the Indian satellite sector accounts for barely 2% of global revenues. "It should be at least 10%, if not 13-15%... So that is the extent which is to be grown and that is a massive amount. You are not going to get it so easily."

 

Ramachandran lamented that despite a thrust for progress from the highest echelons of the government, the support has not filtered down to lower levels. "We still have not got (satellite) spectrum. So things are going very differently. We talk very much about ease of doing business. But this is obviously not ease of doing business," he said.

 

India is transitioning toward administrative allocation of satellite communication spectrum under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, while finalising pricing and authorisation frameworks through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Department of Telecommunications. Pricing remains unresolved as DoT and TRAI remain divided - TRAI has recommended a 4?justed gross revenue usage fee with an extra INR 500 per urban customer annually, while DoT has proposed a flat 5% levy. The DoT is currently finalising the rules and pricing framework for satellite spectrum, which will eventually be sent to the Cabinet for final approval.

 

Referring to data from TRAI, Ramachandran said India's rural-urban digital divide had plateaued around 65% from financial years 2021-22 (Apr-Mar) to FY25. This increased to over 78% in FY26. In March this year, India had about 77 internet subscriptions per 100 people - 127 in urban and 48 in rural. This is likely due to higher fixed wireless access and multiple connections in urban areas. 

 

Ramachandran is not enthusiastic about the National Broadband Mission 2.0. "NBM 2.0 was formally initiated in early 2025, however, it does not have the support of a formal policy guideline (National Telecom Policy) unlike its predecessor. It is building on the tower and fibre expansion targets which were left unfinished from the previous NBM 1.0 (National Broadband Mission 1.0) targets with some incremental expansion," he said. 

 

On export, competitiveness of telecom equipment manufactured in India, Ramachandran said there is strong growth potential for networking equipment and devices, driven by government initiatives. However, structural hurdles exist in high-end component manufacturing. The sector continues to battle heavy reliance on imported critical components such as printed circuit boards, semi-assembled modules, and other raw materials. "Domestic value addition remains relatively low, with high costs for local manufacturers limiting broader global cost-competitiveness. Also, for most of the equipment manufactured and exported, the IPR (intellectual property right) does not reside in India. India needs deeper investments in indigenous product design, core research and development, and creation of IPR rather than just assembly," he added.

 

The top items on Broadband India Forum's agenda include a push for launch of next-generation satellite communication services, proliferation of broadband access under Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI), proliferation of private 5G network through direct spectrum allocation to enterprises, responsible governance of artificial intelligence, and increase in digital infrastructure assets such as subsea cable and data centres to improve internet resilience.

 

For telecom service providers, Ramachandran believes AI deployment will be more towards network optimisation, beam steering, and auto-tuned network slicing. According to him, AI would also be helpful for customer services and the technology may help in auto re-routing traffic in case of long-distance fibre link failure, which is being done manually. "TSPs (telecom service providers) are deploying AI also to power edge computing, multi-cloud connectivity management, provide GPU-as-a-service, and real-time network congestion forecasting. One is also likely to see AI playing a crucial role in integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, so as to ensure seamless operations for users," he said.   End

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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