PIB Analysis 30-11-22 Part 1

PIB Analysis 30-11-22

Part 1

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

Use of Street Furniture for Small Cells and Aerial Fibre deployment

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today released its recommendations on “Use of Street Furniture for Small Cells and Aerial Fibre deployment”.

• As India plans to launch 5G, small cells can play a pivotal role in network upgradation and expansion.
• Use of higher frequency bands for 5G rollout will have shorter coverage as signals in these bands cannot travel through buildings or obstacles.
• Therefore, the macro cells will be required to be complemented with extensive deployment of small cells so as to support all kinds of uses and applications, at all locations.
• Small cells will also be used for traffic offloading since the carrying capacity of lower frequencies, used by macro radio sites, are limited.
• Use of already available street furniture like poles etc. for mounting 5G Small Cells can obviate the need for erecting thousands of new towers resulting in economical and fast deployment of small cells.
• The Small cells will require backhaul connectivity which again can be provided very fast through aerial fibre deployment using street furniture.

Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today (30-11-22) released recommendations on ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG)’.

• In this regard, a Consultation Paper on ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing Satellite Earth Station Gateway’ was issued on 15.11.2021.
• Based on the comments/ inputs received from the stakeholders and on its own analysis, TRAI has finalized its Recommendations on ‘Licensing Framework for Establishing and Operating Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG)’ to the Government.

The salient features of these Recommendations are as follows:

1. There shall be a separate Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG) License under the Section 4 of Indian Telegraph Act. The SESG License will not form part of the Unified License (UL). The Service Area for the SESG License shall be at National Level.
2. The SESG Licensee may establish, maintain, and work SESGs anywhere within the territory of India for all types of satellite systems for which the Government has given the permission.
3. The SESG Licensee may provide satellite-based resources to any entity, which holds license/ permission granted by DoT or Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) and is permitted to use satellite media for the provision of services under its license/ permission.
4. The SESG Licensee may establish SESGs in respect of one or more Government approved satellite systems.
5. The SESG Licensee shall not be permitted to provide any kind of telecommunication service or broadcasting service directly to the consumers, for provision of which, a separate license/ authorization/ permission is required from the Government.
6. The SESG license shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the effective date of the license with a provision of renewal for 10 years.
7. The Licensee shall adhere to the instructions/ guidelines issued by the Government in respect of connecting Trusted Products in its network.
8. The SESG Licensee shall meet the instructions/ directions of the Licensor (i.e. DoT) issued from time to time in the interest of national security.
9. Only the companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013 of India shall be eligible to apply for grant of SESG License.
10. A non-refundable one-time Entry Fee of Rs. Ten lakhs (Rs. 1,000,000) shall be levied for grant of SESG License.
11. As the SESG licensees will not provide any service directly to end consumers, only a token License Fee of Re. 1 per annum shall be levied on SESG License.