Broadband infrastructure for transforming India

The world is on the cusp of the 4th industrial revolution, which encompasses cyber-physical systems, cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, robotics, etc. It has the potential to cause massive disruption in our day-to-day lives and has the capability to empower individuals and communities, as it creates new opportunities for economic, social and personal development. India needs to capitalize on the opportunity presented in the digital revolution by ensuring rapid, scalable and reliable broadband network deployment.

Currently, we are at a nascent stage of broadband growth in India with ~150 million subscribers with ~12 percent penetration rate. Though our mobile broadband subscribers have increased by 2.5 times over the last two years, India’s broadband growth story is beginning to unfold.

Telecom sector liberalization began more than 25 years ago when the private sector was invited into telecom manufacturing in 1991 and bid documents for cellular licenses in metros were readied in 1992. At this milestone in telecom sector reforms, we are presented with an opportune time to review and draft a new telecom policy. This policy may focus on delivery of Broadband and emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications so as to lead the 4th industrial revolution.

By means of this report, we aim to highlight the framework and engagements to achieve ambitious but realistic targets for key performance indicators of broadband, define initiatives to facilitate ease and efficiency of rollouts, and generate demand awareness.